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JUDAH’S  SCEPTRE 

AND 

JOSEPH’S  BIRTHRIGHT 


An  analysis  of  the  prophecies  of  Scripture  in 
regard  to  the  Royal  Family  of  Judah 
and  the  many  nations  of  Israel 


BY 

REV.  J.  H.  ALLEN 

THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
FEB  4  1933 

fourth  edition  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINCi 


A.  A.  BEAUCHAMP 

PUBLISHER 
BOSTON,  MASS. 


s 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1902 

BY  J.  H.  ALLEN 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

Copyright  1917 
BY  A.  A.  BEAUCHAMP 


PREFACE. 


Gift 

Mrs.  F.  W.  Kelsey 


Because  of  our  connection  with  a  certain  school  of 
Christian  thought,  we  once  held  the  erroneous  opin¬ 
ion  that  most  of  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament 
were  fulfilled,  and  that  its  present  use  was  simply  to 
feed  the  faith  of  devout  men.  Also,  that  any  nourish¬ 
ment  for  faith  which  could  be  drawn  from  that  source 
was  not  wholesome  food  for  the  soul,  unless  we  were 
in  possession  of  such  an  exalted  type  of  spirituality 
that  we  would  be  able  to  rise  above  the  somewhat 
prosy  details  of  its  histories,  and  find  our  soul-food  in  a 
surely  accompanying  spiritual  influence,  which,  in  its 
action  upon  us,  was  superior  to  the  mere  literalness  of 
the  subject  matter. 

We  were  also  led  to  suppose  that  the  unfulfilled 
prophecies  of  “Moses  and  the  prophets 99  were  of  no  spe¬ 
cial  moment  to  Christianity,  because  the  great  moment¬ 
ous  question,  the  coming  of  a  Saviour,  was  settled  for¬ 
ever.  Consequently,  when,  perchance,  we  found  some 
prophetic  utterance  therein,  which  we  were  forced  to 
admit  had  not  become  a  historic  verity,  and  since  this 
was  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit,  we  felt  at  liberty  to 
give  the  reins  to  our  somewhat  vivid  imagination,  and 
let  it  run  unchecked  through  the  verdant  and  fruitful 
fields  of  speculation  in  search  of  some  rare  and  deeply- 
spiritual  truth  which  we  might  lay  against  that  seeming 
rhetorical  figure  of  Holy  Writ. 

5 


827493 


Preface 


But  this  roaming  through  those  alluring  fields  always 
resulted  in  failure,  for  when  those  fanciful  and  ran¬ 
dom  conjectures,  no  matter  how  lofty,  were  brought 
before  our  quickened  conscience,  they  were  soon  con¬ 
demned,  because  that  judge  who  sits  at  the  bar  of  our 
spiritual  integrity  not  only  revealed  their  insincerity, 
but  also  convinced  us  that  they  did  not  contain  the  real 
import,  thought  and  purpose  for  which  those  words 
of  God  were  written.  Thus  defeated,  we  could  only 
bemoan  our  lack,  not  only  of  the  mental  power  to  grasp 
the  true  meaning  of  those  holy  words,  but  also  the 
depth  of  spirituality  which  was  supposed  to  be  essen¬ 
tial  to  the  possession  of  that  intense  spiritual  power 
which  could  pierce  through  the  density  of  earthly 
things  into  the  rarity  of  those  which  were  heavenly. 
For  the  spiritual  standards  which  we  had  erected  for 
ourselves  demanded  the  attainment  of  a  soul  life  which 
would  give  us  power  to  soar  in  the  spirit  into  such 
rarefied  heights  of  divine  enlightenment  that  we  could 
discern  the  graceful  curves,  the  symmetrical  outlines, 
the  non-earthly  shadows,  the  heavenly  half-tones  and 
the  divine  high-lights  of  that  wonderful  picture, — that 
spiritual  masterpiece — which  lay  behind  the  coarseness 
of  the  letter. 

These  errors  so  blinded  us,  that,  in  our  ignorance, 
we  even  considered  that  the  twelve  apostles,  whom  our 
Lord  had  chosen  and  enlightened,  were  in  gross  error 
when  they  understood  Christ  and  the  Scriptures  to 
teach  that  there  was  to  be  a  literal  and  visible  king¬ 
dom  of  God  on  the  earth  with  the  Lord  as  king  of  all 
the  earth  when  that  day  came.  We  assumed  that  their 
conception  of  the  promised  kingdom,  when  contrasted 


Preface 


7 


with  our  own,  was  carnal  in  the  extreme,  and  that  the 
superiority  of  our  conception  lay  in  the  fact  that  it  was 
free  from  all  such  mortal  grossness.  And  we  really 
thought  that  this  spirit  of  moral  groveling  among  the 
apostles  had  reached  its  climax,  when  James,  who  after¬ 
ward  became  a  martyr,  and  his  brother  John,  he  whom 
the  Master  loved,  took  their  mother  to  Christ,  and  had 
her  make  a  request  of  Him  for  them  which  they  did 
not  dare  make  for  themselves. 

But,  thank  God,  such  conceptions  of  divine  truth 
were  only  our  spiritual  swaddling  clothes,  and  the  day 
dreams  of  spiritual  babyhood.  For,  as  we  grew  in 
grace,  and  became  less  presumptive,  the  Holy  Ghost 
lifted  the  veil  from  our  mind,  and  illuminated  the  fol¬ 
lowing  portion  of  the  Saviour’s  reply  to  the  request  of 
the  mother  of  James  and  John:  “To  sit  on  my  right 
hand,  and  on  my  left,  is  not  mine  to  give,  but  it  shall 
be  given  to  them  for  whom  it  is  prepared  of  my 
Father.” 

In  this  work  we  have  followed  the  history  of  the  two 
families,  or  kingdoms,  into  which  the  seed  of  Abraham 
were  divided,  through  the  intricate  paths  of  their  Bibli¬ 
cal  history,  and  the  prophecies  concerning  them,  which 
have  thus  far  become  history,  down  to  the  present  day, 
without  the  loss  of  any  single  connecting  link. 

We  have  been  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  thus  write 
concerning  the  earthly  history  of  God’s  chosen  race, 
because  so  very  little  of  it  is  known  by  the  masses  of 
our  people,  and  yet  it  is  the  foundation  upon  which 
the  entire  structure  of  Christianity  must  rest.  A 
knowledge  of  these  earthly  things  not  only  renders  the 
claims  of  Christianity  impregnable,  but  they  are  also 


8 


Preface 


the  basis  upon  which  we  must  rest  our  faith  for  bet¬ 
ter  things.  For  Jesus  has  said,  “If  I  have  told  you  of 
earthly  things,  and  ye  believe  not,  how  shall  ye  be¬ 
lieve,  if  I  tell  you  of  heavenly  things  ?”  The  truth  of 
this  saying  of  our  Lord  has  been  demonstrated  in  our 
own  ministry ;  for  in  the  past  seven  years,  during  which 
time  we  have  been  able  to  demonstrate  the  special  fea¬ 
tures  of  truth  as  set  forth  in  this  book — i.  e.,  the 
realization  of  the  promises  made  to  Israel,  by  THE 
PEOPLE  OF  ISRAEL— the  Lord  has  used  us  to 
bring  more  skeptics  to  the  light  of  his  truth,  than  in  all 
our  previous  ministry  of  twenty-one  years.  Also  dur¬ 
ing  this  seven  years,  while  we  have  seen  the  faith  of 
some  fail,  the  Lord  has  helped  us  to  save  the  tottering 
faith  of  many.  We  are  also  sure,  from  the  very  reasons 
which  are  given,  that  the  faith  of  those  who  have  made 
shipwreck  could  not  have  failed,  if  they  had  known 
these  things.  Hence  we  have  written  this  time  con¬ 
cerning  the  earthly  things  which  are  the  subjects  of 
Divine  inspiration,  praying  that  God  will  use  them  to 
strengthen  the  faith  of  some,  and  to  bring  others  into 
the  faith  in  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible.  But  if  there 
seems  to  be  a  demand  for  it  we  will  write  again,  and 
then  we  will  write  on  The  Heavenly  Things. 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Preface .  5 

PART  FIRST 

THE  BIRTHRIGHT;  OR,  THE  PROMISE  OF 
MANY  NATIONS  TO  ABRAHAM 

I.  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright .  13 

II.  Race  Versus  Grace . 23 

III.  The  Sceptre  and  the  Birthright . 36 

IV.  Jacob's  Seed  Divided  Into  Two  Kingdoms . 49 

V.  All  Israelites  Are  Not  Jews . 62 

VI.  The  Broken  Brotherhood .  79 

VII.  Epriam-Samaria — Israel's  Idolatry .  90 

VIII.  Samaria-Israel  Cast  Out  and  Cast  Off . 101 

IX.  The  Jews  Go  to  Babylon  and  Return . 112 

X.  JoSEPH-ISRAEL  LOST . ,125 

XI.  Joseph -Israel — ( Continued )  . ,\37 

PART  SECOND 

THE  SCEPTRE;  OR,  THE  PROMISE  OF  A  PER¬ 
PETUATED  HOUSE,  THRONE,  AND 
KINGDOM  TO  DAVID 

I.  The  Sceptre  and  the  Davidic  Covenant . ...149 

II.  Jeremiah's  Call  and  Commission . 163 

III.  The  Tearing  Down  and  Rooting  Out . 169 

IV.  Vindication  of  the  Personal  Promises  of  Jere¬ 

miah  . 183 

V.  A  Royal  Remnant  That  Escapes . 191 

VI.  The  Prince  of  the  Scarlet  Thread . 199 

VII.  The  “Prince  of  the  Scarlet  Thread"  and  “The 

Royal  Remnant"  United . 207 


CONTENTS 


PART  THIRD 

THE  VEIL  LIFTED  FROM  ABRAHAMIC 

NATIONS 

Page 

I.  Lost  Israel  and  the  First  Overturn  Located . 219 

II.  Jacob's  Pillow-Pillar  Stone . 230 

III.  The  Other  Overturns . 246 

IV.  Dan — The  Serpent's  Trail . 259 

V.  Israel  in  the  Isles . 271 

VI.  A  Few  More  Identities . 284 

VII.  A  Study  in  “Scarlet" . 300 

VIII.  Egypto-Israelitish  and  Anglo-Saxon  Emblems.  .  .314 

IX.  The  Two-Fold  Aspect  of  Prophetic  Israel . 333 

X.  The  Coming  Exodus . 350 

Appendix  . 369 


PART  FIRST. 


THE  BIRTHRIGHT;  OR,  THE  PROMISE  OF 
MANY  NATIONS  TO  ABRAHAM. 


“Behold,  my  covenant  is  with  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  a 
father  of  many  nations.  Neither  shall  thy  name  any  more  be 
called  Abram,  but  thy  name  shall  be  Abraham ;  for  a  father  of 
many  nations  have  I  made  thee.  And  I  will  make  thee  ex¬ 
ceeding  fruitful,  and  I  will  make  nations  of  thee,  and  kings 
shall  come  out  of  thee.” 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Although  it  is  not  generally  known,  it  is  neverthe¬ 
less  true  that  God  made  two  covenants  with  Abraham, 
or,  rather,  that  he  made  one  with  Abram  and  another 
with  that  same  man  after  his  name  was  changed  to 
Abraham.  This  change  of  name  was  made  that  it 
might  harmonize  with  the  new  character  and  the  new 
order  of  things  as  they  pertain  to  the  covenant  man. 

The  first,  or  Abram,  covenant  was  made  when  the 
man  was  ninety  years  old  ;  but  the  second,  or  Abraham, 
covenant  was  not  made  until  this  man  was  called  upon 
to  make  the  one  great  sacrifice  of  his  life. 

The  text  of  the  first  of  these  covenants  is  as  follows : 
“And  when  Abram  was  ninety  years  old  and  nine,  the 
Lord  appeared  to  Abram,  and  said  unto  him,  I  am  the 
Almighty  God ;  walk  before  me  and  be  thou  perfect. 
And  I  will  make  my  covenant  between  me  and  thee,  and 
will  multiply  thee  exceedingly.  And  Abram  fell  on 
his  face;  and  God  talked  with  him,  saying:  As  for  me, 
behold  my  covenant  is  with  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  a 
father  of  many  nations.  Neither  shall  thy  name  any 
more  be  called  Abram,  but  thy  name  shall  be  Abraham ; 
for  a  father  of  many  nations  have  I  made  thee.  And  I 
will  make  thee  exceeding  fruitful,  and  I  will  make  na¬ 
tions  of  thee,  and  kings  shall  come  out  of  thee.  And  I 
will  establish  my  covenant  between  me  and  thee  and 
thy  seed  after  thee  in  their  generations  for  an  ever- 


14  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

lasting  covenant,  to  be  a  God  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed 
after  thee.  And  I  will  give  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed 
after  thee,  the  land  wherein  thou  art  a  stranger,  all  the 
land  of  Canaan,  for  an  everlasting  possession;  and  I 
will  be  their  God.” — Gen.  17:1-8. 

We  see  at  once  that  the  great  feature  of  this  cove¬ 
nant  is  a  multiplicity  of  seed  for  a  man  that  hitherto 
has  been  childless  ;  and  that  this  multitude  of  people  are 
to  become,  not  one  great  nation,  not  simply  a  plurality 
of  nations,  but  a  large  plurality,  i.  e.,  “Many 
Nations.” 

With  the  great  majority  of  Bible  students,  and  with 
most  schools  of  Biblical  thought,  the  fact  that  the 
Lord,  when  making  this  covenant,  promised  Abram 
that  he  should  become  the  father  of  more  than  one 
nation  is  entirely  overlooked.  The  general  trend  of  the 
teaching  is,  that,  of  all  the  people  who  dwell  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth,  the  Jewish  people  are  distinctively  the 
people,  the  one  nation  only,  which  is  composed  of  the 
seed  of  Abraham ;  and  that  they,  and  they  alone,  are  the 
chosen  people  of  God  whose  national  story  makes  up 
the  great  bulk  of  Biblical  history  and  prophecy.  But 
such  cannot  be  the  case,  for  if  God  has  fulfilled  the 
first  promise  which  he  made  to  the  father  of  the  Jewish  t 
people,  he  has  made  it  possible  for  the  people  of  some 
of  the  other  nations  of  earth  to  stand  side  by  side  with 
that  one,  and  with  them  to  say:  “We  have  Abraham 
to  our  father.” 

One  special,  and  important,  feature  of  this  covenant 
is,  that  among  this  multitude  of  Abrahamic  seed  there 
is  to  be  a  royal,  or  kingly  line ;  the  posterity  of  which 
shall  become  the  rulers  of,  at  least,  some  of  these  na- 


Introductory  15 

tions  which  shall  owe  their  origin  to  one  common 
father.  For  the  Lord  not  only  promised  Abraham  that 
kings  should  come  out  of  his  loins,  but  when  he  reiter¬ 
ated  the  promises  of  his  covenant  to  Sarai,  the  barren 
wife  of  Abraham,  he  said :  “She  shall  be  the  mother 
of  nations;  kings  of  people  (R.  V.,  nations)  shall  be 
of  her.”  And  so  her  name  was  changed  to  Sarah,  i.  e., 
Princess,  that  she,  too,  might  have  a  name  which  would 
be  in  harmony  with  her  new  character,  for  only  a 
princess  may  be  the  mother  of  kings. 

Another  special  feature  of  this  covenant  is,  that  there 
is  a  land  consideration,  which  involves  the  land  cf 
Canaan  in  an  everlasting  bond — not  only  of  ownership, 
but  of  possession.  Evidently  the  everlasting  possession 
of  that  land  by  its  lawful  heirs  has  not  yet  begun,  for, 

at  this  writing,  it  is  in  the  hands  of  the  “Unspeakable 
Turk.” 

One  other  feature  of  this  covenant  is,  that  it  is 
wholly  unconditional.  That  is,  the  Lord  has  promised, 
irrespective  of  the  moral  or  spiritual  character  of  the 
people  themselves,  so  to  increase  the  posterity  of  the 
Abrahamic  lineage,  that,  nationally,  they  shall  become 
all  that  the  covenant  promises. 

Centuries  after  the  giving  of  this  covenant,  when  the 
Abrahamic  posterity  were  quite  numerous,  and  while 
they  were  still  together  in  one  nation,  the  Lord  made  a 
covenant  with  them  which  was  conditional;  but  they 
broke  faith  with  him,  and  violated  its  specified  condi¬ 
tions.  Since  it  is  true,  that,  in  contracting  or  condi¬ 
tional  covenants,  there  is  both  a  party  of  the  first  and  a 
party  of  the  second  part,  and  the  law  is,  that,  when 
either  party  breaks  the  conditions,  the  other  is  not  held, 


16  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

or  bound  by  them,  hence  when  the  covenant  people 
broke  their  part  of  the  contract,  God  was  no  longer 
bound,  and  said :  ‘They  continued  not  in  my  covenant, 
and  I  regarded  them  not.”  Thus  that  covenant  was  an¬ 
nulled.  But  in  this  covenant  which  we  have  under 
consideration,  God  has  assumed  all  responsibility,  and 
to  his  integrity  alone  must  we  look  for  its  fulfillment. 
For  while  it  is  true  that  both  God  and  Abraham  are  par¬ 
ties  to  this  covenant,  we  well  know  who  has  pledged 
himself,  and  whose  will  it  expresses,  and  whom  to  ex¬ 
pect  shall  keep  his  word  inviolate,  and  which  will  be 
to  blame  if  this  covenant  goes  by  default. 

The  second  covenant  which  God  made  with  Abra¬ 
ham  was  not  made  until  many  years  after  the  first, 
and  was  made  at  a  time  when  Abraham  had  just  of¬ 
fered  his  only  son,  who  was  the  first  of  the  promised 
many,  as  a  sacrifice,  in  obedience  to  the  command  of 
him  who  produced  that  son,  by  his  creative  power, 
from  that  which  was  as  good  as  dead,  and  as  an  ex¬ 
pression  of  faith  in  the  resurrective  power  of  that  same 
covenant-making  God.  It  is  recorded  as  follows :  “And 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  called  unto  Abraham  the  second 
time,  and  said,  By  myself  have  I  sworn,  saith  the  Lord, 
for  because  thou  hast  done  this  thing,  and  hast  not 
withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son :  that  in  blessing  I  will 
bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I  will  multiply  thy  seed 
as  the  stars  of  the  heaven,  and  as  the  sand  which  is 
upon  the  sea  shore ;  and  thy  seed  shall  possess  the  gate  i 
of  his  enemies ;  and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth  be  blessed ;  because  thou  hast  obeyed  my 
voice.”  Gen.  22:  16-18. 


Introductory.  17 

Before  noticing  the  one  great  feature  of  this  cove¬ 
nant,  we  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  some  of  the 
minor  points ;  the  first  of  which  is,  that  it  also  is  un¬ 
conditional,  “By  myself  have  I  sworn,”  is  the  declara¬ 
tion  of  the  covenant  maker;  hence  this  covenant  can 
neither  be  broken  nor  annulled,  because,  as  in  the  first, 
God  alone  is  the  responsible  party. 

Another  point  is,  that  there  is  a  repetition  and  con¬ 
firmation  of  the  multiplicity  of  children  phase  of  the 
first  covenant,  to  which  is  added  the  first  detail  as  to 
what  shall  be  a  national  characteristic  of  Isaac's  multi¬ 
plied  seed  in  their  relation  to  other  nations,  namely: 
“Thy  seed  shall  possess  the  gate  of  his  enemies.” 

The  Lord  usually  gives  himself  two  witnesses,  or 
doubles  his  promises  and  prophecies,  as  in  the  case  of 
Pharaoh  when  he  had  dreamed  the  same  thing  twice 
and  Joseph  told  him  the  reason  that  the  dream  was 
doubled  to  him  was  because  the  thing  which  it  signi¬ 
fied  was  of  God.  So  it  was  with  this  gate  blessing.  It 
was  at  a  time,  that,  after  consenting  to  accompany 
Abraham's  servant  and  become  the  wife  of  Isaac, 
through  whom  must  come  this  great  multitude  of  peo¬ 
ple,  this  gate  promise,  together  with  that  which  per¬ 
tains  to  the  multiplicity  of  children,  was  given  to  Re- 
bekah.  It  came  as  a  parting  blessing  from  her  broth¬ 
ers,  who,  it  seems,  were  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
prophecy ;  for  it  is  recorded  that  they  blessed  her,  and 
said :  “Thou  art  our  sister,  be  thou  the  mother  of 
thousands  of  millions,  and  let  thy  seed  possess  the 
gate  of  those  that  hate  them.” 

But  the  one  great  special  feature  of  this  second  cove¬ 
nant  which  God  made  with  that  one  man,  is  most  cer- 


t 


18  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

tainly  couched  in  the  following  words :  “In  thy  seed 
shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed.”  It  will 
take  but  little  investigation  to  reveal  the  fact  that  this 
one  phase  of  this  last  covenant  is  Messianic,  and  that  it 
pertains  especially  to  but  one  person.  But,  that  the 
many  to  whom  pertains  the  first  covenant  are  involved 
in  this,  together  with  the  one  to  whom  it  more  espe¬ 
cially  pertains,  and  that  the  principal  one  of  this  cove¬ 
nant  is  involved,  in  the  common  bond  of  brotherhood, 
with  the  many  of  that  first  covenant,  no  one  will  deny. 

We  understand  that  at  the  time  these  words  were 
uttered,  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  give  them 
the  fullness  of  meaning  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  given 
them,  as  interpreted  in  the  New  Testament,  for  it 
was  under  the  illumination  given  to  the  Apostle  Paul, 
that  their  full  import  bursts  upon  us.  It  was  when 
contrasting  the  law  covenant — the  one  which  was 
annulled — with  this  only-son  covenant  that  Paul  is 
careful  to  say:  “Now  to  Abraham  were  the  promises 
made,  even  for  his  seed,  He  does  not  say,  and  to  the 
seeds ”  as  concerning  many,  but  as  concerning  one: 

“and  to  thy  seed  which  is  Christ.” 

We  have  here  given  the  best  translation,  for  clear¬ 
ness,  that  the  text  will  allow.  In  it  the  Apostle  makes 
no  attempt  to  give  an  exact  Old  Testament  quotation, 
but  bases  his  argument  on  the  strength  of  the  subject 
noun  being  in  the  singular  number.  The  subject  with 
which  he  is  dealing  is  the  blessing  that  shall  come  upon 
all  the  Gentile  nations  through  Abraham’s  sacrificed 
son,  the  one  seed >  who  also  was  the  Only  Son  of  his 


Introductory.  19 

Divine  Father,  just  as  Isaac,  the  type,  was  the  only  son 
of  his  father  when  he  was  offered  in  sacrifice. 

It  is  not  only  the  words,  but  also  the  circumstances 
connected  with  the  giving  of  these  promises,  which  are 
prophetic.  God  had  said  to  Abraham  that  the  many  na¬ 
tions  which  he  had  formerly  promised  him  should  come 
through  Isaac,  his  only  son,  but  afterward  called  upon 
him  to  sacrifice  that  son,  who  was  the  only  one  through 
whom  that  promise  could  be  fulfilled.  But  Abraham 
knew  that  God  had  accomplished  that  which  was  equal 
to  a  creation,  when,  through  him  and  Sarah,  who  were 
both  as  good  as  dead,  Isaac  had  been  produced ;  so,  be¬ 
ing  strong  in  faith,  he  offered  him  up,  “accounting  that 
God  was  able  to  raise  him  up,  even  from  the  dead ;  from 
whence  also  he  received  him  in  a  figure.” 

Could  any  analogy  be  more  complete  ? 

A  Son  of  Promise,  an  only  son,  from  whom  so  much 
is  expected,  sacrificed  and  accounted  dead,  then,  in 
symbol,  raised  from  the  dead !  And  the  two  special 
reasons  for  this  test,  being,  on  the  one  hand,  an  encour¬ 
agement  to  faith,  and  on  the  other,  that  the  son  might 
live  to  fulfill  his  God-ordered  destiny.  The  prototype 
of  this  is  another  Son  of  Promise,  an  only  Son,  from 
whom  so  much — so  very  much — is  promised  and  ex¬ 
pected,  sacrificed  on  the  tree,  dead.  But  that  the  two 
witnesses,  the  word  and  the  symbol,  of  the  promiser 
might  not  fail,  the  Divine  Father,  who  gave  back  that 
other  only  son,  raises  from  the  dead  his  only  Son,  that 
he  also  might  become  the  author  and  finisher  of  our 

V 

faith,  that  he,  too,  might  live  and  become  all  that  was 
promised  and  expected  of  him,  and  thus  fulfill  his  glori- 


20  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

ous  destiny.  We  can  ask  no  more,  for  both  the  lesser 
and  the  greater  son,  the  type  and  prototype,  are,  “as 
concerning  the  flesh/'  sons  of  Abraham. 

Throughout  the  world  it  is  most  generally  known, 
and  throughout  Christendom  it  is  universally  known, 
that  “the  seed  to  whom  the  promise  was  made,"  did 
come;  but  it  is  not  universally  known,  nor  acknowl¬ 
edged  throughout  Christendom,  that  the  many  peoples 
are  included  in  that  same  covenant  with  this  one  seed, 
without  whom  the  entire  structure  of  Christianity  must 
fall,  and  that  every  argument  for  the  Christ,  from  the 
covenant  standpoint,  must  stand  the  crucial  test  of  a 
numerous  posterity  from  the  loins  of  Abraham,  or  go 
down.  And  yet  it  is  so. 

True,  the  covenant  with  the  people  failed;  true,  the 
people  sinned,  and  violated  their  obligations ;  true,  the 
law  was  added,  because  of  their  transgressions,  to 
bridge  over,  “till  the  (one)  seed  should  come  to  whom 
the  promise  was  made."  But  the  argument  in  favor  of 
the  Messianic  covenant  against  all  this  is,  that  “the 
covenant  which  was  confirmed  before  of  God  in  Christ, 
the  law,  which  was  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  after, 
cannot  disannul,  that  it  should  make  the  promise  of 
none  effect." 

How  could  it?  We,  sirs,  believe  that  it  could  not. 
All  Christendom  believes  that  it  could  not.  And  if  it 
could  not,  neither  can  the  promise  concerning  a  multi¬ 
plicity  of  children  for  Abraham  be  annulled. 

For,  with  this  same  Messianic  promise,  there  is  a 
repetition  of  the  metaphor  of  many  seeds,  as  the  stars 
of  heaven  and  as  the  sands  of  the  sea  shore,  together 
with  the  gate  blessing;  so  we  can  just  as  reasonably  ex- 


Introductory 


21 


pect  that  Christ  could  or  would  have  failed,  as  to  expect 
that  the  gate,  the  sand,  and  the  star,  promises  shall 
have  gone  by  default.  But,  at  this  late  day  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  with  the  Divine  light  of  prophecy 
shining  upon  well  known  facts,  which  once  were  only 
the  subjects  of  prophetic  utterances  but  are  now  the 
recorded  facts  of  authentic  history,  we  can  say  with  a 
confidence,  which  is  supported  by  the  eternal  Spirit, 
that  neither  have  failed. 

Elsewhere,  when  this  same  Apostle  was  making  an 
effort  to  encourage  the  faith  of  believers  in  the  faithful¬ 
ness  of  God,  he  gives  a  word  for  word  quotation  from 
this  same  covenant  promise,  saying  :  “  When  God  made 
promise  to  Abraham,  because  he  could  swear  by  no 
greater,  he  swore  by  himself,  saying,  Surely  blessing 
I  will  bless  thee,  and  multiplying  I  will  multiply  thee.” 
This  quotation,  as  you  see,  pertains  to  the  multiplicity 
of  seed,  and  not  to  the  Messianic  phase  of  the  second 
covenant;  but  it  proves  to  us  that  each  individual  fea¬ 
ture  of  that  covenant  stands  on  the  same  secure  foun¬ 
dation,  and  is  just  as  sure  of  fulfillment  as  the  other,  for 
underneath  every  promise  of  that  covenant  there  are 
two  immutable  things  ;  —  God  and  his  oath. 

So,  we  are  safe  in  saying  that  God  has  made  two  un¬ 
conditional  covenants  with  Abraham,  and  that,  if  he 
has  been  true  to  those  covenants,  then  there  are  “many 
nations  ”  in  existence  on  this  earth  today,  the  people 
of  which  must  have  descended  from  Abraham  and 
Sarah  ;  and  that  these  nations  are  in  possession  of  the 
gates,  or  entrances,  of  their  national  enemies;  unless 
it  be  that  the  time  has  not  yet  come  for  those  promises 
to  materialize. 


22  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

The  facts,  in  either  case,  are  revealed,  and,  as  we 
proceed,  we  shall  see  which  of  these  is  true ;  but  thus 
far  it  is  evident  that  one  of  these  covenants  is  Mes„ 
sianic;  that  the  other  is  multitudinous;  that  each  is 
contained  in  the  other;  that  in  them  there  is  no  con¬ 
tracting  party  of  the  second  part ;  and  that  both  alike 
do  stand  on  the  integrity  of  God. 

These  are  the  days  of  skeptical  indifferentism  on  the 
one  hand,  and  of  rampant  infidelity  on  the  other ;  of 
narrow  sectarianism,  worldly  churchianity,  and  the 
blatant  headiness  of  higher  (?)  criticism  —  Days 
“  when  Endor-ism  is  called  “Spiritual-  ism,”  when 
Buddhism  is  sanctified  by  the  name  of  Theo-sophia, 
i.e.,  Divine  wisdom,  and  when  pure  faith  and  true 
spirituality  are  often  termed  “  Fanaticism.” 

Then  surely,  in  such  days  as  these,  all  who  believe 
that  the  promises  of  God  are  never  broken  will  be 
helped  and  encouraged  when  proof,  full  and  abundant, 
shall  be  given  that  not  only  the  promise  concerning 
the  many  nations,  but  all  the  predictions  of  “  Moses  and 
the  prophets,”  as  they  pertain  either  to  the  Christ  or 
to  the  many-nationed  people,  have  been,  are  being,  or 
—  on  the  strength  of  that  which  has  been,  and  that 
which  now  is  —  shall  yet  be  fulfilled. 


CHAPTER  II. 

RACE  VERSUS  GRACE. 

Since  we  are  compelled  to  begin  our  search  for  light, 
concerning  every  phase  of  these  themes,  along  the 
lines  of  Biblical  history  and  prophecy,  it  will  be  well 
for  us  first  to  gather  from  those  sources  a  few  of  the 
greater  and  more  general  facts.  By  so  doing,  we  will 
find  it  to  be  a  great  help  in  our  study  of  the  more 
special  features  of  the  subjects,  as  it  will  enable  us  to 
place,  with  unerring  certainty,  each  detail  where  it 
belongs. 

It  being  true  that  the  Lord  included  in  the  Abra- 
hamic  covenants  a  promise  that  the  forthcoming  chil¬ 
dren  of  promise  should  eventually  develop  into  many 
nations,  there  are  many  other  things  that  must  follow 
as  a  consequent ;  one  of  which  is,  that  for  the  accom¬ 
plishment  of  this  purpose,  God  must  provide  sufficient 
territory  or  scope  of  country,  which  shall  become  the 
home  of  each  nation,  for  it  is  absolutely  impossible  that 
flourishing  nations  shall  exist  without  national  homes. 

Pursuant  to  this  thought,  we  know  of  no  utterance 
in  all  the  Word  of  God  which  furnishes  a  more  general 
or  comprehensive  outlook  than  the  following :  “When 
the  Most  High  divided  to  the  nations  their  inheritance, 
when  he  separated  the  sons  of  Adam,  he  set  the  bounds 
of  the  people  according  to  the  number  of  the  children 
of  Israel.  For  the  Lord’s  portion  is  his  people ;  Jacob 
is  the  lot  (cord,  or  line  )  of  his  inheritance.”  Deut. 
32 :  8,  9. 


23 


24  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

When  Moses  was  commanded  to  write  the  above 
concerning  the  division  of  the  earth’s  surface  to  the 
sons  of  Adam,  only  a  very  small  portion  of  it  was  in¬ 
habited  ;  nevertheless,  in  the  mind  of  God  every  Island 
was  set  apart,  and  every  continent  divided.  For  the 
scope  of  the  facts  herein  stated  are  world-wide,  and  em¬ 
brace  within  there  sweep  the  entire  inhabited  and  in¬ 
habitable  portion  of  the  earth’s  surface.  Also,  those 
divisions  were  so  arranged  and  subdivided,  and  the 
boundaries  so  set,  that  every  nation,  tongue,  and  peo¬ 
ple  among  the  sons  of  Adam,  —  be  they  already  in  ex¬ 
istence,  or  be  they  among  the  forthcoming  nations, — 
had  their  national  home  allotted  unto  them. 

Moreover,  God  always  not  only  kept  in  mind  that 
special  country  which  he  had  promised  should  become 
the  everlasting  inheritance  of  the  chosen  race,  but  he 
also,  when  setting  the  territorial  bounds  for  other 
nations,  remembered  Isael,  and  either  restricted  the 
boundaries  of  other  nations,  or  enlarged  those  divisions 
of  country  intended  for  Israel,  which  will  be  needed 
by  that  immense  multitude  of  people  when  they  shall 
have  fulfilled  their  appointed  destiny  of  developing  in¬ 
to  many  nations.  For  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  the 
posterity  of  Abraham  are  a  natural  seed,  according  to 
the  flesh,  and  that  each  special  nation  of  the  many 
must  have  a  place  in  which  to  dwell. 

In  addition  to  the  fact  that  these  Abrahamic  nations 
are  a  fleshly  seed,  we  must  remember  also  that  they 
are  not  necessarily  a  race  of  saints ;  for  it  is  a  notorious 
fact  that  some  of  that  race  have  been,  and  others  are 
now,  just  as  wicked  as  that  fallen  son  of  the  heavens 


Race  Versus  Grace 


25 


would  have  them;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  that  same 
race  has  furnished,  and  still  is  furnishing,  men  who  are 
the  grandest  and  best  of  earth. 

When  the  time  came  for  God  to  produce  from  the 
covenant  man  a  son  who  should  be  the  further  progeni¬ 
tor  of  the  covenant  race,  Abraham  was  anxious  that 
Ishmael,  his  son  by  Hagar,  the  handmaid  of  Sarah, 
should  be  used  for  this  purpose,  and  exclaimed,  “O  that 
Ishmael  might  live  before  thee !”  To  this  earnest  ap¬ 
peal  the  Lord  was  not  indifferent,  and  promised  that 
he  would  bless  Ishmael.  But  on  the  subject  of  rejecting 
Ishmael  as  the  covenant  inheritor,  and  making  his 
covenant  with  a  son  who  should  be  a  child  of  Sarah, 
as  well  as  of  Abraham,  the  Lord  was  inflexible.  His 
word  of  promise  was  the  insurmountable  barrier,  and 
so  he  said  to  Abraham :  “Sarah  thy  wife  shall  bear 
thee  a  son  indeed,  and  thou  shalt  call  his  name  Isaac ; 
and  I  will  multiply  him  exceedingly;  twelve  princes 
shall  he  beget,  and  I  will  make  him  a  great  nation.  But 
my  covenant  will  I  establish  with  Isaac,  which  Sarah 
shall  bear  unto  thee  at  this  set  time  in  the  next  year.” 

So  Ishmael’s  posterity  became  alien  before  the  legal 
line  had  any  existence, — except  that,  on  the  authority 
and  responsibility  of  creative  faith,  the  Lord  counts 
things  that  are  not  as  if  they  were — for  God  had  yet 

to  create  Isaac  and  bring  forth  life  out  of  that  which 
was  as  good  as  dead. 

We  have  the  record  of  another  racial  choice  and 
rejection  which  was  made  before  birth,  that  of  Jacob 
and  Esau,  but  before  we  discuss  the  question  of  race 
versus  grace, — as  involved  in  the  caption  of  this  chap¬ 
ter  relative  to  them,  for  it  is  over  their  case  that  the 


26  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 


subject  is  argued  in  the  New  Testament,  we  wish  to 
call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  after  the  death  of 
Sarah,  Abraham  married  a  second  wife  whose  name 
was  Keturah,  by  whom  he  had  a  number  of  sons.  These 
sons  in  time  became  the  fathers  of  the  Medes,  Midian- 
ites,  and  other  nations ;  but  we  can  no  more  reckon 
these  nations  as  a  part  of  the  promised  many,  than  we 
can  those  which  were  formed  by  the  posterity  of  Ish- 
mael  and  Esau.  Could  we  do  so,  our  task  would  be 
an  easy  one  and  our  story  soon  told ;  but  we  cannot  do 
this,  for  the  covenant  nations  must  come  only  from 
Abraham  and  Sarah  through  their  only  son  Isaac, 
whose  posterity  alone  can  be  called,  as  they  are  called, 
“the  Children  of  the  Promise, ”  in  contradistinction  to 
those  who  belong  to  the  other  families,  and  who  are 
called  “the  Children  of  the  Flesh.” 

This  brings  us  to  the  question  of  race  versus  grace 
as  understood  by  the  New  Testament  Church,  and  ex¬ 
plained  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  who  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  says:  “Neither,  because  they  are  the  children 
of  Abraham,  are  they  all  (racial)  children,  *  *  * 

but  the  children  of  the  promise  are  counted  for  the 


seed.”  As  he  carries  the  argument  still  further,  he 


makes  this  truth  all  the  more  apparent  by  declaring: 
“In  Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called,”  and  then  explains, 
as  follows :  “That  is,  they  which  are  the  children  of 
the  flesh,  these  are  not  the  (national)  children  of  God; 
but  the  children  of  the  promise  are  counted  for  the 
seed.  For  this  is  the  word  of  promise,  at  this  time  will 
I  come,  and  Sarah  shall  have  a  son.  And  not  only  this ; 
but  when  Rebecca  also  had  conceived  by  one,  even  our 
father  Isaac  (for  the  children  being  not  yet  born, 


Race  Versus  Grace 


27 


neither  having  done  any  good  or  evil,  that  the  purpose 
of  God  according  to  election  might  stand,  not  of  works, 
but  of  him  that  calleth) :  it  was  said  unto  her,  the 
elder  shall  serve  the  younger.  As  it  is  written  Jacob 
have  I  loved,  but  Esau  have  I  hated.  What  shall  we 
say  then?  Is  there  unrighteousness  with  God?  God 
forbid  1”  Rom.  9:  7-14. 

With  this  argument  before  us,  it  is  clear  that  it  is 
only  the  children  of  Isaac  who  are  counted  for  the 
national  seed  of  the  covenant  concerning  the  prom¬ 
ised  multitude,  and  that  all  this  question  of  election  as 
regards  Jacob  and  Esau  is  purely  racial  and  national. 
That  is,  one  of  these  two  nations  which  sprang  from 
the  same  mater  is  the  recipient  of  national  promises, 
glories,  honors,  covenants,  and  service  of  which  the 
other  is  not  a  partaker. 

The  argument  is  that  when  Rebecca,  who  we  re¬ 
member  was  to  become  the  mother  of  thousands  of 
millions,  had  conceived  by  Isaac,  the  father  of  the  race, 
the  result  was  that  there  were  two  nations,  or  nation¬ 
alities,  in  the  womb— not  necessarily  a  nation,  either  of 
sinners  or  of  saints.  To  convince  us  that  the  election 
was  purely  racial,  Paul  throws  in  the  parenthetical 
clauses  explaining  that  Jacob  had  done  nothing  good 
that  he  should  deserve  these  covenant  blessings.  But 
he  also  just  as  assuredly  affirms  that  Esau  had  done  no 
evil  that  he  should  not  have  them,  for  the  choice  was 

made  before  they  had  the  power  to  do  good  or  evil, 
i-e.,  before  they  were  bom. 

The  King  James  version  is  a  little  unfortunate  in  its 
use  of  the  word  “hated,”  as  herein  used,  for  one  mean¬ 
ing  which  is  given  to  the  original  word  is,  “to  love 


28  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

less,”  and  when  used  in  contrast  to  the  word  “love”  as 
applied  to  Jacob,  it  will  bear  that  simple  meaning.  The 
fact,  which  Paul  states,  is  simply  that  God  loved  Jacob 
more  and  Esau  less,  or  that  he  preferred  one  to  the 
other,  and  that  this  preference  for  one  excluded  the 
other. 

So  Paul  asks  the  question,  “Is  there  unrighteousness 
with  God?”  and  for  a  reply  gives  only  that  surprised 
exclamation,  “God  forbid!”  He  scouts  the  criminating 
thought  that  it  could  possibly  be  unrighteousness  with 
God,  that  he  should  be  pleased  to  choose  the  white  race 
with  which  to  work  out  his  purpose,  instead  of  the 
red,  or  copper-colored  one;  but  makes  the  implica¬ 
tion  that  there  would  have  been  unrighteousness,  of 
a  very  grave  character,  with  the  Lord,  if  this  election 
had  been  one  of  grace  instead  of  race — that  is,  grace 
unto  salvation  for  Jacob  and  his  seed,  and  damnation, 
without  any  possible  chance  of  grace,  for  Esau  and 
his  children. 

Now  for  the  facts  concerning  these  contradistinctive 
appellations,  “Children  of  the  Flesh”  and  “Children  of 
the  Promise,”  as  applied  to  the  races  which  have  Abra¬ 
ham  for  one  common  father. 

( 1 )  God,  as  we  have  shown,  made  a  covenant  with 
Abraham,  in  which  it  was  promised  that  he  should 
become  the  father  of  many  nations,  hence  Abraham  was 
the  inheritor  of  a  promise  from  God. 

(2)  Isaac,  who  was  a  natural  son  of  Abraham  and 
Sarah,  according  to  the  flesh,  was  not  only  the  child 
of  a  special  promise,  but  he  was  also  the  first  child  of 
the  covenant  promise. 


Race  Versus  Grace 


29 


(3)  After  the  death  of  Abraham,  God  confirmed 
the  original  covenant  promise  to  Isaac,  the  child  of 
promise,  as  follows:  “I  will  perform  the  oath  which 
I  swear  unto  Abraham  thy  father;  and  I  will  make 
thy  seed  to  multiply  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  and  I  will 
give  unto  thy  seed  all  these  countries ;  and  in  thy  seed 
shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed  ”  Hence 
Isaac  also  became  the  inheritor  of  a  promise  from  the 
God  of  his  father. 

(4)  The  immediate  posterity  of  Isaac,  the  promise- 
holder,  were  Jacob  and  Esau,  the  persons  whom  Paul 
uses  in  making  his  argument  concerning  the  Lord's 
choice  of  race.  Jacob,  the  younger  of  these  two,  who 
were  twins,  was  chosen  by  the  promise-maker,  before 
they  were  born,  to  be  the  inheritor  of  the  covenant 
promises.  And  so  the  Divine  promiser  reiterates  those 
promises  to  him,  as  follows :  “I  am  the  Lord  God  of 
Abraham  thy  father,  and  the  God  of  Isaac:  the  land 
whereon  thou  liest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy 
seed :  and  thy  seed  shall  be  as  the  dust  of  the  earth,  and 
thou  shalt  spread  abroad  to  the  west,  and  to  the  east, 
and  to  the  north,  and  to  the  south :  and  in  thee  and  in 
thy  seed  shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed." 
Hence  Jacob  also  received  direct  from  the  Lord  the 
same  covenant  promises  which  had  previously  been 
given  to  his  fathers. 

(5)  Since  there  can  be  no  mistaking  the  purport  of 
these  covenant  promises  regarding  a  natural  and  mul¬ 
titudinous  posterity  for  these  promise-inheritors,  and 
inasmuch  as  these  promises  were  promised  and  re¬ 
promised,  by  the  Divine  promise-maker  to  the  succes¬ 
sive  promise-holders,  then,  when  that  promised  multi- 


30  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

tude  of  people  shall  have  materialized,  it  is  they,  and 
they  only,  who  can  be  called  “The  Children  of  the 
Promise."  And  the  only  crucial  test  is  that  they  be 
Abraham's  seed  who  have  descended  from  Isaac 
through  Jacob. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  natural  seed  of  Abraham,  whose 
genealogical  tree  sprouts  from  the  Jacob  roots,  are  the 
children  of  the  promise,  and  that  others  are  not,  al¬ 
though  they  also  be  the  natural  sons  of  Abraham,  but, 
pot  having  come  through  the  family  line  of  the  promise- 
inheritors,  they  are  “the  Children  of  the  Flesh"  only . 
While  to  Israelites  only ,  the  seed  of  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob,  pertain  the  promises,  the  covenants,  the 
adoption,  the  glory,  the  special  service,  the  giving  of 
the  divine  law,  and  through  whom,  as  concerning  the 
flesh,  Christ  came.  But  no  such  national  glory,  honor, 
dignity,  and  exaltation  are  promised  to  those  other 
nations  which  sprang  from  that  same  father  through 
Ishmael,  Esau,  and  the  sons  of  Keturah:  no,  not  even 
such  glory  as  comes  from  the  least  of  these  covenants 
promises  and  blessings. 

Consequently,  we  can  see  why  the  Lord  always  de¬ 
clares  himself  to  be  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  and  not  the  God  of  Abraham,  Ishmael,  and 
Esau ;  and  why  it  is  that  Paul's  kinsmen  according  to 
the  flesh  are  exclusively  the  children  of  the  promise, 
for  they  are  Israelites,  to  whom  pertain  the  prom¬ 
ises,  etc.  That  is,  they  are  the  people  who  owe  their 
existence  to  the  fact  that  God  was  true  to  the  promise 
which  he  made  to  Abraham,  repeated  to  Isaac,  and 
reiterated  to  Jacob,  whose  name  was  changed  to  Israel, 
and  from  whom  come  the  elect  people  whose  general 


Race  Versus  Grace 


3i 


racial  name  is  Israel.  Thus  each  individual  member  of 
the  race  is  an  Israelite,  be  he  a  good  man  or  a  bad  one, 
and  belongs  to  the  elect  or  chosen  people  of  God. 

Therefore  all  this  question  of  election  between  Jacob 
and  Esau,  which  has  caused  so  many  unjust  conceptions 
of  God  and  his  precious  saving  truth,  is  a  question  of 
Race,  and  not  of  Grace. 

However,  there  is  both  an  election  of  race  and  an 
election  of  grace,  for  Paul,  when  speaking  of  the  seven 
thousand  men  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal, 
declares  that  even  now,  “at  this  present  time,  also, 
there  is  a  remnant  according  to  the  election  of  grace.” 
But  when  he  wrote  regarding  the  attitude  of  a  certain 
part  of  the  elect  race  toward  the  election  of  grace,  he 
says :  “As  concerning  the  gospel,  they  are  enemies  for 
your  sakes ;  but  as  touching  the  election ,  they  are  be¬ 
loved  for  the  fathers'  sakes.”  Here  we  find  two  elec¬ 
tions,  i.  e.,  the  election  of  race  and  the  election  of  grace . 

Touching  the  election  of  race,  God  could  say,  “And 
thou,  Israel,  art  my  servant  whom  I  have  chosen,  the 
seed  of  Abraham  my  friend.”  But,  when  it  was  a 
question  of  individual  service  or  relation  to  him,  even 
among  his  chosen  people,  he  could  throw  the  respon¬ 
sibility  on  them,  and  say :  “Choose  ye  this  day  whom 
ye  will  serve.”  Or  when  pressing  the  subject  of  eter¬ 
nal  life  to  be  accepted  or  rejected  by  each  member  of 
that  elect  race,  God  could  say:  “See,  I  have  this  day 
set  before  thee  life  and  death,”  and  then  exhort  them 
to  “Choose  life !” 

If  it  is  a  question  of  race  election,  and  the  fidelity 
of  the  Divine  promise  is  at  stake,  it  can  be  asserted  that 
the  will  of  God,  independent  of  the  will  of  others,  can 


32  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

cause  certain  conditions  to  obtain ;  '‘that  the  purpose  of 
God  according  to  election  might  stand" — not  in  the 
good  or  evil  works,  or  unholy  natures  of  unborn 
babes,  "but  of  him  that  calleth." 

When  the  call  of  God  is  of  racial,  or  of  national  im¬ 
port,  God  can  say:  "Hearken  unto  me,  O  Jacob  and 
Israel  my  called."  But  if  it  is  a  question  of  personal 
election  to  the  grace  of  salvation,  then  faithful  men  of 
God  may  exhort  other  men,  saying:  "Give  diligence  to 
make  your  calling  and  election  sure." 

When  it  is  race,  it  is,  "Whom  I  (God)  have  chosen." 

When  it  is  grace,  it  is,  "Whosoever  will,  may  come 
and  take  the  water  of  life  freely." 

When  it  is  race,  it  is,  "I  have  called  thee  by  my 
name;  thou  art  mine."  In  grace  it  is  "Whosoever 
believeth,"  of  whom  the  Lord  says:  "They  are  mine." 

In  grace  it  is,  "Come." 

In  race  it  is  fate,  destiny,  kismet. 

One  is  a  chosen  race ,  and  the  other  is  a  chosen  way. 
The  way  is  by  faith  that  it  might  be  of  grace,  but  the 
choice  of  race  is  according  to  the  predetermined  and 
predestined  purpose  of  God. 

In  race  election  it  is  generation,  or  born  of  the  flesh. 

In  the  election  of  grace  it  is  regeneration,  or  born 
of  the  Spirit. 

In  grace  it  is,  "Whosoever  offereth  praise  glorifieth 
me;"  but  in  race,  it  is,  "This  people  have  I  formed  for 
myself ;  they  shall  show  forth  my  praise." 

This  declaration  brings  us  to  the  consideration  of 
the  purpose,  or  object,  which  the  Lord  has  in  choosing, 
and  forming  a  special  race  of  men  who,  in  spite  of  the 


Race  Versus  Grace 


33 


wickedness  of  the  great  bulk  of  them,  he  calls  his  own 
chosen  people,  and  whose  national  destiny  he  purposes 
to  control. 

Much  of  the  manifest  purpose  of  God  touching  this 
people  is  made  known  in  that  brief  epitome  given  by 
the  Apostle  Paul,  as  quoted  above,  respecting  the  na¬ 
tional  honors  of  his  own  people.  Figuratively  speak¬ 
ing,  every  word  in  that  resume  of  Israelitish  history 
and  the  summing  up  of  their  honors  weighs  a  ton.  As 
we  proceed  with  the  story  of  Israel,  it  is  our  purpose 
to  consider  these  facts  in  detail,  but  at  this  juncture  we 
will  take  time  only  to  say  that,  since  the  creation,  no 
such  opportunity,  or  such  fitting  cause,  for  national 
honor  and  greatness  has  ever  come,  or  ever  can  come,  to 
any  other  nation  on  the  earth. 

It  would  seem  that  their  cup  of  glory  was  full  to  the 
overflow,  when  through  them  the  Lord  sent  his  word 
from  Heaven,  and  spread  it  abroad  over  the  face  of  the 
inhabited  portions  of  the  earth,  and  when  God’s  word 
had  been  so  fulfilled,  and  his  purpose  for  them  so  fully 
accomplished  that  they  could  say:  “Unto  us  a  child 
is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given;  and  the  government 
shall  be  upon  his  shoulder;  and  his  name  shall  be 
called  Wonderful,  Counselor,  The  mighty  God,  The 
everlasting  Father,  The  Prince  of  Peace.”  When  they 
could  say  this — then  it  would  seem  that  their  cup  of 
national  greatness  and  glory  was  overflowing,  and  that 
the  supreme  purpose  of  God  for  them  had  been  reached. 
But  it  is  our  glad  privilege  to  tell  you  that  there  is  in 
God’s  word  a  declared  purpose,  which  must  yet  be  ac¬ 
complished  through  that  elect  race,  and  until  it  shall 
be  fulfilled,  all  that  which  is  done  is  robbed  of  fully 


34  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

nine-tenths  of  its  power  and  glory;  since,  outside  the 
realm  of  faith,  millions  are  today  hopelessly  drifting 
on  the  shoals  of  constantly  increasing  forms  of  unbelief, 
and  with  the  great  majority  of  men,  the  word  of  God 
must  forever  be  regarded  as  a  cunningly  devised  fable, 
unless  God  has  some  plan  of  vindication  for  it  and 
himself. 

Furthermore,  the  great  love  of  God  is  misunderstood 
and  despised ;  the  blood  of  the  atonement  is  trampled 
upon ;  Christ  is  still  considered  by  the  many  a  bastard, 
a  fraud,  and  a  failure.  He  is  still  put  to  an  open  shame 
in  the  house  of  his  professed  friends ;  shipwrecks  of  a 
one-time  faith  and  a  present  professed  faith  in  him 
are  scattered  everywhere.  And  so  it  is  that  God,  his 
Word,  and  his  Christ,  must  yet  be  fully  vindicated. 
And  they  shall  be,  for  God  has  promised  it ;  and  when 
this  vindication  shall  have  been  accomplished,  then,  and 
not  till  then,  will  Israel  have  reached  the  supreme 
climax  of  greatness  and  glory  of  the  purpose  for  which 
the  Lord  has  chosen  her. 

Harken  ye  unbelieving  ones  !  Harken  to  this ! — 

“Thus  saith  the  Lord  that  created  thee,  O  Jacob,  and 
he  that  formed  thee,  O  Israel,  *  *  *  ye  are  my  wit¬ 
nesses,  saith  the  Lord,  and  my  servant  whom  I  have 
chosen ;  that  ye  may  know  and  believe  me,  and  under¬ 
stand  that  I  am  He ;  before  me  there  was  no  God 
formed,  neither  shall  there  be  after  me.  I,  even  I,  am 
the  Lord ;  and  beside  me  there  is  no  Saviour.  I  have 
declared,  and  have  saved,  and  I  have  showed,  when 
there  was  no  strange  God  among  you :  therefore  ye  are 
my  witnesses,  saith  the  Lord — that  I  am  God.” — Isa. 
43:  1,10-12. 


Race  Versus  Grace  35 

Note  this,  “That  YE  may  know  and  believe  ME,  and 
understand  that — I  AM  HE.” 

God  not  only  intends  to  use  the  Israelites  for  the 
purpose  of  convincing  them  that  he  is  God,  and  the 
only  God,  but  he  also  intends  to  use  them  to  convince 
the  rest  of  the  world.  For  he  says:  “ I  will  sanctify 
my  great  name,  *  *  *  and  the  heathen  shall 

know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  saith  the  Lord  God,  when  I 
shall  be  sanctified  in  you  before  their  eyes.” — Ezek. 
36:23. 

This  is  the  great  purpose  for  which  the  Lord  has 
chosen  Israel,  and  when  this  is  accomplished,  they  shall 
have  reached  the  acme  of  national  glory. 

If  you  ask,  “Is  the  history  of  Israel,  as  a  whole,  a 
Divine  work?  we  answer,  yes.  But  if  you  ask,  “Is  that 
history  designed  as  a  preparation  for  the  moral  crea¬ 
tion  which  Jesus  Christ  came  to  effect?”  Our  answer 
is,  no;  the  law  which  the  Lord  gave  to  his  people  was 
intended  to  accomplish  that  purpose;  but  the  history 
of  Israel,  together  with  prophecies  concerning  them, 
many  of  which  must  yet  become  history,  is  for  the  vin¬ 
dication  of  God. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  SCEPTRE  AND  THE  BIRTHRIGHT. 

Simply  to  show  the  fact  that  there  is  in  Biblical 
history  that  which  is  styled  the  Sceptre,  and  also  that 
there  is  a  something  which  is  designated  as  the  Birth¬ 
right,  we  quote  the  following :  “The  Sceptre  shall  not 
depart  from  Judah,  etc.” — Gen.  49:  10.  “For  Judah 
prevailed  above  his  brethren,  and  of.  him  comes  the 
chief  ruler  (prince)  ;  but  the  Birthright  is  Joseph's.” — 
1  Chron.  5  :2. 

That  the  Sceptre  blessings,  privileges,  and  promises 
pertain  to  Judah,  from  whom  comes  the  royal  family 
of  Israel's  race,  is  well  known,  and  its  import  somewhat 
fully  comprehended  in  the  realm  of  light  and  knowl¬ 
edge  as  disseminated  through  Christendom.  But  that 
which  is  called  the  Birthright  has  not,  in  the  past,  been 
understood  at  all,  and  as  yet  is  understood  but  by  the 
few.  And  the  very  few  who  have  written  on  themes 
which  involved  the  Birthright  have  assumed  that  their 
readers  were  as  wise  as  they,  and  have  written  concern¬ 
ing  the  Birthright  without  explaining  what  it  was ; 
hence,  the  reader  is  compelled  to  receive  their  use  and 

application  of  the  word  without  knowing  it  to  be  cor¬ 
rect. 

When  we  say  that  the  word  Birthright  implies  that 
which  comes  by  right  of  birth,  or  as  an  inheritance,  all 
will  agree  with  us;  but  just  what  special  inheritance 
is  referred  to  as  that  which  is  declared,  in  the  above 

36 


37 


The  Sceptre  and  the  Birthright 

text,  to  be  the  right  of  Joseph,  few  will  understand 
until  the  matter  is  explained.  Hence  we  give  the  fol¬ 
lowing: 

In  the  first  covenant  which  the  Lord  made  with 
Abraham,  there  are  two  distinct  features,  in  so  far  as 
concerns  his  children ;  first,  a  multiplicity  of  seed,  as 
involved  in  the  following:  '‘I  will  make  thee  exceed¬ 
ing  fruitful,  and  I  will  make  nations  of  thee second, 
a  royal  line,  the  promise  of  which  is  given  as  follows : 
“Kings  shall  come  out  of  thee.”  Hence  these  covenant 
promises  and  blessings,  which  had  been  given  him 
direct  from  the  Lord,  became  the  lawful  heritage  of 
Abraham. 

This  heritage  which  was  given  from  God  to  a  hu¬ 
man  being  seems  to  have  in  it  both  a  human  and  a  di¬ 
vine  right ;  the  human  right  being  that  a  son  of  the  her¬ 
itage-holder  may  succeed  the  father  and  become  the 
lawful  possessor  of  the  inheritance ;  the  divine  right 
being  that  of  choice  among  the  legal  posterity  of  the 
heritage-holder. 

After  this  heritage  was  given,  Isaac  was  the  first 
heir  in  the  line  of  succession,  and  he  was  also  the  one 
whom  the  Lord  had  chosen  as  the  inheritor  of  that 
which  had  been  given  to  his  father.  At  the  time  of 
Abraham’s  death  he  was  the  father,  not  only  of  Isaac, 
but  of  six  other  lawful  sons,  who  were  the  children  of 
Keturah,  his  second  wife.  Notwithstanding  this  fact, 
the  divine  record  declares  that  he  gave  all  his  posses¬ 
sions  to  Isaac,  the  son  of  Sarah.  “Abraham  gave  all 
that  he  had  unto  Isaac.” — Gen.  25  :5. 

Isaac  became  the  heir  because  he  was  the  first  oorn 
among  the  lawful  sons  of  Abraham ;  hence  those  pos- 


38  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

sessions  came  to  him  as  the  right  of  the  first-born,  or 
by  right  of  birth,  i.e.,  as  a  Birthright.  And,  if  Isaac 
was  heir  to  all  that  Abraham  had,  then,  aside  from  all 
else  which  may  have  come  into  his  possession,  he  was 
most  certainly  heir  of  that  God-given  heritage,  the 
covenants  of  promise  which  contained  these  two  dis¬ 
tinct  features — a  multitude  of  people  and  a  royal  line. 

Esau,  the  son  of  Isaac  and  brother  of  Jacob,  having 
been  born  first,  for  he  was  the  elder  of  twins,  was  next 
in  the  line  of  succession,  and  being  the  elder  or  first¬ 
born,  came  into  possession  of  the  Birthright.  Thus  he 
had  a  birthright  at  his  disposal,  but  instead  of  keeping 
it,  and  allowing  it,  in  turn,  to  become  the  property  of 
his  first-born  son,  he  undervalued  it,  and  sold  it  to  his 
brother  Jacob,  who,  being  the  younger,  could  not  have 
acquired  it  by  right  of  birth. 

The  right  of  Esau  to  sell  the  birthright  has  never 
been  questioned ;  his  wisdom  in  selling  it  may  well  be 
questioned.  The  fact  that  Jacob,  who  became  anxious 
to  obtain  that  birthright,  felt  that  he  must  not  only 
make  the  purchase  from  Esau,  its  lawful  owner,  but 
also  knew  that  he  must  deceive  their  father  in  order 
that  he  might  secure  from  him  the  accompanying 
blessing,  is  proof  positive  that  the  Birthright  was  the 
lawful  inheritance  of  Esau. 

Moreover,  when  Jacob  went  in  unto  Isaac  in  the 
disguise  which  he  and  his  mother  had  devised,  he  went 
with  a  lie  on  his  lips,  and  said  to  his  father,  “I  am 
Esau  thy  first  born.”  But  Isaac  was  distrustful ;  the 
hands  felt  all  right,  but  the  voice  aroused  suspicion.  So 
the  blind  father  asked,  “Art  thou  my  very  son  Esau?” 
Again  Jacob  answered  in  the  affirmative. 


The  Sceptre  and  the  Birthright  39 

What  was  he  after?  That  which  belonged  to  the 
first-born. 

What  did  he  get  ?  That  which  belonged  to  the  first¬ 
born. 

He  had  not  only  bought  it  from  the  first-born  him¬ 
self,  but  also  had  deluded  the  father  into  bestowing 
upon  him  the  blessing  which  made  the  purchase  secure 
from  the  human  side ;  for  when  Isaac  found  that  Jacob 
had  secured  the  blessing  from  him  by  subtility,  he  could 
not  revoke  it. 

That  word  “blessing”  seems  to  be  the  word  which 
attaches  itself  to  the  receiver  and  inheritor  of  even  these 
covenant  promises  which  pertain  wholly  to  earthly 
things.  For  God  had  said  to  Abraham  “In  blessing  I 
will  bless  thee,  and  in  multiplying  I  will  multiply  thee.” 
It  is  also  recorded  that  “God  blessed  Isaac  *  *  * 

saying  I  will  bless  thee,  *  *  *  and  I  will  make 

thy  seed  to  multiply  as  the  stars.”  Esau’s  sad  cry  was 
exceedingly  bitter  over  his  disappointment  when  he 
found  that  Jacob  had  supplanted  him,  but  Isaac  was 
compelled  to  say  to  him,  “I  have  blessed  him  (Jacob) 
and  he  shall  be  blessed.”  So  it  is  recorded :  “And 
Isaac  called  Jacob  and  blessed  him,  and  said  unto  him, 
Thou  shalt  not  take  a  wife  of  the  daughters  of  Canaan. 
Arise,  go  to  Padan-aram,  to  the  house  of  Bethuel,  thy 
mother’s  father;  and  take  thee  a  wife  from  thence  of 
the  daughters  of  Laban,  thy  mother's  brother.  And 
God  Almighty  bless  thee,  and  make  thee  fruitful,  and 
multiply  thee,  that  thou  mayst  be  a  multitude  of  peo¬ 
ple;  and  I  will  give  thee  the  blessing  of  Abraham,  to 
thee  and  to  thy  seed  with  thee.” — Gen.  28:  1-4. 


40  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

Thus  we  see  that  this  blessing,  as  given  to  Abraham, 
Isaac  and  Jacob,  carries  with  it  the  promise  of  a 
numerous  posterity;  also,  that  the  “blessing  of  Abra¬ 
ham”  was  given  to  Jacob  by  his  father  Isaac,  who  was 
the  direct  inheritor  of  the  Abrahamic  heritage ;  and 
that,  while  Isaac  in  fact  gave  it  to  Jacob,  he  intended 
it  for  Esau,  his  first-born  son,  to  whom  it  belonged  by 
right  of  birth.  If  it  belonged  to  him  because  he  was 
the  first-born,  then  it  was  his  “birthright.”  And  since 
he  sold  his  birthright  to  Jacob,  who  thus  became  its 
possessor,  Jacob  and  not  Esau  must  become  the  father 
of  that  promised  multitude  of  people  which  is  con¬ 
tained  in  the  Birthright;  i.e.,  the  covenant  promise  to 
Abraham. 

In  truth  Esau  could  justly  say:  “Is  he  not  rightly 
named  Jacob?  (supplanter)  for  he  hath  supplanted  me 
these  two  times :  he  took  away  my  birthright ;  and, 
behold  now  he  hath  taken  away  my  blessing.” 

Although  Jacob  had  received  from  his  father  the 
much  coveted  blessing,  which  carried  with  it  the  in¬ 
heritance  of  the  Birthright  promises,  he  was  dissatis¬ 
fied,  and  seemed  to  hold  those  blessings  as  insecure 
until  they  had  been  ratified  to  him  directly  by  the  bless¬ 
ing  of  God.  Having  secured  them  by  fraud,  he  knew 
that  he  was  holding  them  under  the  protest  of  both  his 
father  and  his  outraged  brother. 

So  much  from  the  human  side.  On  the  divine  side, 
God  intended  that  Jacob  should  have  the  birthright, 
for,  as  we  have  already  shown,  he  chose  Jacob  in 
preference  to  Esau  before  they  were  born.  Had  Jacob 
trusted  God,  he  would  have  placed  him  in  possession 
of  the  birthright  in  a  perfectly  honorable  way ;  but  he, 


The  Sceptre  and  the  Birthright  41 

in  distrust,  took  matters  into  his  own  hands,  and 
gained  possession  of  it  by  wicked  conniving. 

It  was  because  of  this  that  he  had  more  trouble  to 
secure  the  blessing  of  God  upon  his  possession  of  this 
inheritance  than  had  his  predecessors,  and  though  he 
wrestled  for  it  with  the  angel  all  the  night  long,  he 
did  not  secure  it  until  he  had  first  confessed  his  name — 
which  was  expressive  of  his  character — to  be  Jacob, 
i.e.,  supplanter.  Then  it  was  that  God  bestowed  the 
blessing,  took  away  that  reproachful  name,  and  gave 
him  a  new  and  unstained  one,  even  Israel :  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  which  is :  “As  a  prince  thou  hast  prevailed  with 
God.” 

The  next  legal  inheritor  of  the  Birthright  was  Reu¬ 
ben,  the  first-born  son  of  Jacob  and  Leah,  his  first 
wife;  but  he,  like  Esau,  lost  it;  and  Joseph,  the  first¬ 
born  son  of  Rachel,  the  second  and  best  loved  wife  of 
Jacob,  succeeded  his  father  in  the  possession  of  it.  But 
that  we  are  right  in  saying  that  the  first-born  is  the 
legal  inheritor,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  Reuben, 
the  first  born  son  of  Jacob,  is  declared  to  have  been 
heir  to  the  birthright.  This  is  made  clear  in  the  Biblical 
account  of  the  entertainment  which  was  given  by 
Joseph  to  his  brethren,  when  they  came  into  Egypt  the 
second  time  to  buy  food  and  brought  Benjamin  with 
them ;  for  when  the  feast  was  ready,  and  Joseph — who 
had  not  yet  revealed  to  them  the  fact  that  he  was  their 
brother — gave  the  word,  “Set  on  bread,”  it  is  said  of 
the  servants,  who,  it  seems,  had  previously  been  in¬ 
structed,  that,  “They  sat  before  him  the  first-born  ac- 


42  (Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 


cording  to  his  Birthright,  and  the  youngest  according 
to  his  youth:  and  the  men  marveled  one  at  another.” — 
Gen.  43 :  33. 

The  fact  that  Reuben  was  the  first  born  and  possessor 
of  the  Birthright,  and  the  cause  of  his  losing  it,  are  set 
forth  in  connection  with  the  declaration  that  the  Birth¬ 
right  had  been  given  to  Joseph,  as  follows :  “Now  the 
sons  of  Reuben,  ( for  he  was  the  first-born ;  but  foras¬ 
much  as  he  defiled  his  father’s  bed,  his  birthright  was 
given  to  the  sons  of  Joseph  the  son  of  Israel:  and  the 
genealogy  [of  Reuben’s  sons]  is  not  to  be  reckoned 
after  the  Birthright.  For  Judah  prevailed  above  his 
brethren,  and  of  him  is  the  chief  ruler ;  but  the  birth¬ 
right  is  Joseph’s.)  The  sons  of  Reuben  the  first-born 
of  Israel  were,  etc.” — 1  Chron.  5 :  1-3. 

If  our  readers  would  know  just  why  this  act  should 
have  caused  Reuben  to  forfeit  his  birthright,  they  must 
be  able  to  read  between  the  lines.  We  are  only  at  lib¬ 
erty  to  say  that,  after  that  act,  if  either  Reuben  or  his 
probable  first-born  had  come  into  possession  of  the 
Israelitish  birthright,  the  Lord  could  not  have  declared, 
as  he  did  concerning  Israel,  “I  planted  thee  a  noble 
vine,  wholly  a  right  seed.” 

To  Isaac  and  to  Israel  God  had  confirmed  the 
covenants  of  promise  in  their  entirety,  including  in  the 
confirmation  the  promise  of  the  land,  a  multiplicity  of 
seed,  the  one  seed,  or  the  Messianic  covenant,  and  a 
royal  line;  but  you  will  note  from  the  Scripture  just 
quoted,  that  the  promise  of  a  royal  line,  which,  as  the 
sacred  story  proceeds,  is  clearly  shown  to  contain  the 
Messianic  covenant,  had  been  separated  from  the 


The  Sceptre  and  the  Birthright  43 

birthright,  and  given  to  Judah,  the  fourth  son  of 
Jacob  and  Leah,  while  the  birthright  fell  to  Joseph. 

This  individual  separation  of  the  Sceptre  and  the 
Birthright  took  place  just  previous  to  the  death  of 
Jacob,  who  had  these  blessings  at  his  disposal.  Not, 
however,  as  his  own  selfwill  or  human  judgment  might 
suggest,  but  only  as  God  should  direct ;  for  the  history 
of  the  people  involved  is  a  divine  work  from  start  to 
finish,  and  its  ultimate  object  is  the  glory  of  God  in  the 
vindication  of  his  word. 

The  call  of  Abraham  and  the  giving  of  the  promises 
to  him  were  supernatural ;  for  God  had  appeared  unto 
and  talked  with  him.  The  production  of  Isaac  was 
also  supernatural.  No  human  possibility  was  there. 
But  the  possibility  of  faith  was  there,  and  it  prevailed. 
The  conception,  and  the  birth  of  Jacob  and  Esau  were 
also  supernatural,  for  there  were  “two  nations,”  two 
distinct  races, — a  white  child  and  a  red  one — Caucas- 
sian  and  Arabic,  in  one  womb ;  and  the  manner  of  their 
birth  was  so  supernaturally  manipulated,  that,  as  they 
struggled  in  the  womb,  Jacob  held  Esau’s  heel,  and 
thus  they  were  born :  the  very  manner  of  which,  as  we 
hope  to  show,  is  one  of  the  most  striking  types  in  all 
the  Word  of  God.  And  yet,  none  of  these  events  are 
any  more  supernatural,  nor  attended  with  any  greater 
manifest  power  of  God,  nor  is  his  will  any  more  clearly 
manifest  in  them,  than  is  the  transfer  of  the  Sceptre, 
and  the  Birthright,  by  dying  Jacob,  to  Judah  and  to 
Joseph. 

At  the  time  of  Jacob’s  death,  all  Israel  was  in 
Egypt  living  in  the  land  of  Goshen.  When  it  was  re¬ 
ported  to  Joseph  that  his  father  was  dying,  he  took 


44  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

with  him  his  two  sons,  and  hastened  to  the  bedside  of 
the  dying  patriarch.  But  when  Joseph  and  his  sons 
were  ushered  into  the  presence  of  the  dying  man,  it 
appears  that  supernatural  strength,  from  the  one  who 
had  given  him  the  name  of  Israel,  was  given  him,  for, 
although  dying,  it  is  recorded,  that  “He  strengthened 
himself  and  sat  up  in  the  bed.”  Then  discovering  that 
Joseph  was  not  alone  he  asked,  “Who  are  these?”  to 
which  Joseph  replied,  saying,  “They  are  my  sons, 
whom  God  hath  given  me  in  this  place,”  i.  e.,  Egypt. 

After  Joseph  had  explained  to  Jacob,  concerning  his 
half-blood  Egyptian  boys, — Joseph  had  married  an 
Egyptian  woman — then  Jacob  proceeded  to  adopt  them 
as  his  own  legal  sons ;  at  which  time  he  said :  “And 
now  thy  two  sons  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  which  were 
born  unto  thee  in  the  land  of  Egypt  before  I  came  unto 
thee  into  Egypt,  are  mine;  as  Reuben  and  Simeon, 
they  shall  be  mine.”  (Gen.  48:5.)  But  after  the 
adoption  was  completed  he  said  to  Joseph,  concern¬ 
ing  the  issue  which  should  be  begotten  of  him  after 
them,  “They  shall  be  thine,”  but  they  “shall  be  called 
after  their  brethren  in  their  inheritance.”  So  it  is  that 
the  tribal  names  of  all  the  posterity  of  Joseph  are  dealt 
with,  both  from  a  historic  and  a  prophetic  standpoint, 
as  Ephraim  and  Manasseh.  Do  not  forget  that,  for 
upon  it  depends  much  of  interest  in  that  which  is  to 
follow. 

It  would  appear  that,  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  or 
prior  to  it,  the  Holy  Ghost  had  told  Jacob  that  Ephraim 
was  the  one  which  had  been  chosen  by  the  Lord  as  the 
inheritor  of  the  birthright,  or  the  blessing  of  the  first 
born.  For  at  that  time,  the  name  of  Ephraim,  the 


45 


The  Sceptre  and  the  Birthright 

younger,  was  mentioned  before  Manasseh,  the  older ;  as 
also  the  name  of  Reuben,  who  was  the  real  first  born, 
is  mentioned  first  when  his  name  is  coupled  with  that  of 
Simeon.  But  the  transfer  of  the  birthright  from  his 
eldest  to  his  younger  son  was  not  made  known  to  Jo¬ 
seph  until  after  he  had  presented  his  sons  before  Israel 
for  the  promised  blessing. 

Jacob  had  said,  I  will  bless  them.”  So  when  Joseph 
brought  them  to  him,  and  bowed  himself  with  his  face 
to  the  earth,  he  held  Ephraim  in  his  right  hand  toward 
Israel  s  left,  and  ^lanasseh  in  his  left  hand  to  the  right 
hand  of  Jacob.  Joseph  in  his  human  calculation,  was 
managing  so  as  to  have  Manasseh  his  first  born  get  that 
promised  “blessing”  which  was  in  Jacob’s  right  hand. 
His  thought  was,  “If  I  take  Manasseh  in  my  left  hand, 
that  will  bring  him  to  the  right  of  my  father,  so  that, 
even  if  he  is  blind,  when  he  stretches  forth  his  hands 
to  give  the  blessing,  his  right  hand  will  rest  on  the  head 
of  my  first  born  son.” 

But  no !  Look !  As  Jacob  reaches  out  his  hands  to  lay 
them  in  blessing  upon  those  two  heads,  he  being  under 
the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,'  is  “guiding  his 
hands  wittingly,”  i.  e.,  knowingly,  crosses  them  and  lets 
his  right  hand  rest  upon  the  head  of  Ephraim,  the 
younger  brother.  They  were  in  this  position  when 
he  blessed  Joseph,  and  said,  God,  before  whom  my 
fathers  Abraham  and  Isaac  did  walk,  the  God  which 
fed  me  all  my  life  long  unto  this  day,  the  angel  which 
redeemed  me  from  all  evil,  bless  the  lads ;  and  let  my 
name  (Israel)  be  named  on  them,  and  the  name  of  my 
fathers  Abraham  and  Isaac,  and  let  them  grow  into  a 


46  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

multitude  in  the  midst  of  the  earth.’  These  were  the 
collective  blessings  which  those  two  received ;  together 
they  inherited  the  names  of  the  racial  fathers ;  together 
they  are  to  grow  into  a  multitude  of  people. 

At  this  juncture  Joseph  noticed  that  Jacob’s  right 
hand  was  not  resting  on  Manasseh’s  head,  and  wanted 
to  remove  it,  but  Jacob  refused,  saying  “Not  so.” 

“But,”  says  the  anxious  Joseph,  “You  have  your 
right  hand  on  my  younger  son’s  head.” 

To  this,  Jacob  replied,  “I  know  it,  my  son,  I  know 

it.” 

How  does  Jacob  know  it?  He  is  in  a  dying  condi¬ 
tion  and  blind.  Ah,  the  Spirit — the  Spirit  of  Proph¬ 
ecy — is  upon  him  ! 

See  what  follows.  Jacob  does  not  remove  his  hands, 
nor  change  their  position  ;  but  with  his  left  hand  still  on 
Manasseh’s  head,  and  his  right  hand  on  Ephraim’s 
head,  he  continues  to  prophesy ;  still  the  prophecies  are 
no  longer  collective,  but  special  and  individual.  Of 
Manasseh  he  declares,  “He  shall  also  become  a  people 
(nation)  and  he  shall  also  be  great;  but  truly  his 
younger  brother  shall  be  greater  than  he,  and  his  seed 
shall  become  a  multitude  of  nations.  And  he  blessed 
them  that  day,  saying,  In  thee  shall  Israel  bless,  say¬ 
ing  :  God  make  thee  as  Ephraim  and  as  Manasseh ;  and 
he  set  Ephraim  before  Manasseh.”  Gen.  48:19,  20. 

So  Ephraim  was  set  before  Manasseh,  both  nation¬ 
ally  and  tribally;  but  they  were  to  grow  together 
until  they  became  a  multitude  of  people  in  the  midst  of 
the  earth.  Eventually  Manasseh  was  to  become  a  sep¬ 
arate  nation,  and  as  such  was  to  be  a  great  nation.  But 


4  7 


The  Sceptre  and  the  Birthright 

Ephraim  was  to  become  a  multitude  of  nations,  or  as 
some  translate  it,  “a  company  of  nations”;  in  either 
case  this  is  a  reiteration  and  confirmation  of  the  promise 
made  to  Abraham. 

In  his  tribal  relations,  also,  Ephraim  was  placed  be¬ 
fore  his  elder  brother,  because  he  was  elevated  to  the 
inheritance  which  was  forfeited  by  Reuben,  the  first¬ 
born  of  Israel.  This  is  why  God  declares  “I  am  a 
father  to  Israel,  and  Ephraim  is  my  first-born.”  Jer. 
3i  :9- 

While  the  spirit  of  prophecy  was  still  upon  Jacob,  he 
called  all  his  sons  together  to  tell  them  what  their  pos¬ 
terity  should  become  “in  the  last  days.”  Among  other 
prophetic  utterances,  of  which  we  shall  speak  later,  was 
the  following  concerning  Judah  and  the  Sceptre  :  “The 
Sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver 
from  between  his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come ;  and  unto  him 
shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  be.”  Gen.  49  :io. 

Whatever  else  the  Birthright  may  have  contained,  or 
if  God  ever  did  count  those  other  blessings  and  prom¬ 
ises  as  belonging  to  the  Birthright,  one  thing  is  certain  ; 
that  is,  that  when  the  Birthright  passed  into  the  pos¬ 
session  of  Joseph  and  his  sons,  it  was  stripped  bare  of 
all  else,  save  the  oft-repeated  promises  which  pertain  to 
a  multiplicity  of  seed  for  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob. 
Hence,  when  it  was  recorded  in  the  Chronicles  that  the 
Birthright  was  Joseph’s,  it  was  understood  that  from 
the  loins  of  Joseph’s  sons  must  come  seed,  posterity, 
people.  Yea,  multitudes,  nations— “many  nations,” 
even  races  of  people. 

This  is  the  crucial  test.  Since  the  promise  of  the 
fatherhood  of  many  nations,  which  was  given  success- 


48  (Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

ively  to  Abraham  and  Jacob,  was  inherited  and  sold  by 
Esau,  then  inherited  and  forfeited  by  Reuben,  but 
finally  given  to  Joseph  and  his  two  sons,  and  never 
revoked, — then,  we  say,  that  the  crucial  test,  not  only 
for  the  faithfulness  of  God,  but  also  for  the  integrity 
of  his  Word,  is  that  Joseph,  through  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh,  must  of  necessity  become  the  father  of  those 
many  nations  which  were  promised  to  the  fathers  of 
Israel. 

But  the  fact  that  Joseph  must  become  the  father  of 
those  promised  nations  is  not  only  the  crucial  test  of 
God  and  his  Word,  but  it  is  also  a  test  of  the  power  and 
■worth  of  FAITH ;  “By  faith  Jacob,  when  he  was  dy¬ 
ing,  blessed  both  the  sons  of  Joseph.”  Heb.  11:21. 
What  was  that  for  which  Jacob  put  forth  faith  when  he 
blessed  the  sons  of  Joseph?  It  was  that  they  should 
grow  to  be  a  multitude  in  the  midst  of  the  earth  and 
eventually  become  that  which  the  Birthright  demanded  : 
that  is,  a  multitude  of  nations.  It  was  this  Birthright, 
the  fatherhood  of  many  nations,  that  Esau  sold. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Jacob's  seed  divided  into  two  kingdoms. 

When  Boaz  took  Ruth  the  Moabitess  for  a  wife,  the 
people  who  were  assembled  prayed  for  her,  saying: 
“The  Lord  make  thee  like  Rachel  and  like  Leah,  which 
two  did  build  the  house  of  Israel."  The  fact  that  these 
two  women,  as  the  wives  of  Jacob,  were  the  builders  of 
the  house  of  Israel,  would  of  necessity  divide  the  im¬ 
mediate  household  t>f  Jacob  into  two  families.  Hence 
the  pertinency  of  the  question :  Considerest  thou  not 
the  two  families  which  the  Lord  hath  chosen  ?  Jer. 

3 :24-  .  .  1 

Since  the  covenant  promise  of  the  Birthright  was 

given  to  one  of  these  two  families,  and  that  of  the  Scep¬ 
tre  to  the  other,  it  would  be  but  natural — especially 
since  one  of  these  forthcoming  blessings  was  to  be  so 
much  superior  to  the  other — for  these  families  to  keep 
somewhat  apart,  so  as  to  keep  their  family  distinctions 
intact.  This  they  did,  and  yet  they  dwelt  together  for 
a  number  of  centuries,  apparently  without  any  factions 
whatever. 

Together,  as  one  nation,  they  lived  on  in  Goshen. 
Together  the  Sceptre  and  the  Birthright  families  are 
pressed  into  bondage.  Together  the  children  of  Rachel, 
of  whom  it  was  prophesied  that  there  should  be  thou¬ 
sands  of  millions,  and  the  children  of  Leah,  the  mother 
of  coming  royalty — royalty  which,  as  the  sequel  proves, 
is  not  only  the  grandest  and  best  that  this  world  will 

49 


50  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

ever  know,  but  also  the  most  glorious  that  will  ever  be 
known  in  all  the  universe  of  God — together  they  bend 
their  necks  to  the  yoke,  and  their  backs  to  the  burdens. 
Together  they  serve  those  unjust  taskmasters.  To¬ 
gether  their  Lord,  whose  presence  was  with  them, 
brought  them  out  of  that  galling  Egyptian  servitude, 
out  through  the  Red  Sea,  and  into  the  wilderness. 
There,  still  together,  they  refreshed  their  spirits  by 
drinking  from  that  spiritual  Rock  which  followed  them  ; 
and  there  they  refreshed  their  bodies  with  drink  from 
that  literal  rock  which,  as  we  shall  prove,  they  carried 
with  them.  Together  they  ate  the  same  spiritual  and 
temporal  meat,  albeit,  at  times,  that  temporal  meat  was 
angels’  food  which  God  sent  down  from  one  of  their 
habitations. 

Together  they  crossed  the  Jordan,  marched  around 
Jericho,  drove  out  the  Canaanites,  and — for  a  season 
only  inhabited  that  promised  land ;  in  which  they  en¬ 
joyed  the  blessings  and  privileges  of  a  theocratic  gov¬ 
ernment.  But  it  is  recorded  that  they  lightly  esteemed 
the  Rock  of  their  salvation,  cried  down  the  theocracy, 
and  shouted  over  a  man-archy.  Refusing  Him  who 
had  honored,  protected  and  cherished  them  as  a  hus¬ 
band  doth  a  wife,  despising  that  Divine  One  who  had 
followed  them  and  led  them,  and  nourished  them,  and 
fought  for  them,  they  demanded  that  like  the  nations 
around  them,  a  man  should  be  their  king. 

Then  it  was  that  there  arose  trouble,  trouble  which 
resulted  in  strifes  and  factions  galore;  for  after  the  es¬ 
tablishment  of  the  monarchy  only  three  kings — namely : 

Saul,  David  and  Solomon — reigned  over  all  Israel  in 
one  united  kingdom. 


Jacob’s  Seed  Divided  into  Two  Kingdoms  51 

After  the  death  of  Solomon,  contingencies  arose  in 
Israel,  which  brought  the  two  families  that  held  the 
covenant  blessings  face  to  face  with  issues  that  resulted 
in  a  division  of  the  nation,  which  placed  both  the  fam¬ 
ilies  of  Rachel  and  Leah— or  more  properly,  Judah  and 
Joseph,  since  they  are  the  promise-holders — into  posi¬ 
tions  to  fulfill  their  God-appointed  destinies.  And  yet 
we  shall  find  that  the  mills  of  God  do  grind— oh,  so 
very  slowly. 

There  is  contained  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  chap¬ 
ters  of  the  book  of  First  Kings  a  record  of  the  division 
of  the  tribes  of  Israel  into  two  kingdoms,  with  a  son  of 
the  royal  family  as  king  over  one  kingdom,  and  a  son 
of  the  house  of  Joseph  as  king  over  the  other  and  larger 
kingdom. 

King  Solomon  had  married  strange  wives,  and  be¬ 
cause  of  them  he  had  burnt  incense,  and  sacrificed  unto 
Moloch  and  other  idols ;  and  because  of  this,  “The  Lord 
said  unto  Solomon,  Forasmuch  as  this  is  done  of  thee, 
and  thou  hast  not  kept  my  covenant  and  my  statutes, 
which  I  have  commanded  thee,  I  will  surely  rend  the 
kingdom  from  thee,  and  give  it  to  thy  servant.  Not¬ 
withstanding,  in  thy  days  I  will  not  do  it,  for  David  thy 
father’s  sake ;  but  I  will  rend  it  out  of  the  hand  of  thy 
son.  Howbeit  I  will  not  rend  away  all  the  kingdom ; 
but  I  will  give  one  tribe  to  thy  son  for  David  my  ser¬ 
vant’s  sake,  and  for  Jerusalem’s  sake  which  I  have 

chosen.”  i  Kings  11:11-13. 

The  twenty-sixth  verse  of  the  same  chapter  speaks 
of  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat,  an  Ephrathite,  Solo¬ 
mon’s  servant.  It  is  known  that  the  word  Ephrathite 
means  Ephraimite.  The  record  further  states  And 


52  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

the  man  Jeroboam  was  a  mighty  man  of  valor :  and 
Solomon  seeing  the  young  man  that  he  was  industrious, 
he  made  him  ruler  over  all  the  charge  of  the  house  of 
Joseph.”  i  Kings  11:28. 

When  the  Birthright  was  transferred  to  the  sons  of 
Joseph,  Ephraim,  the  younger,  was  set  before  Manas- 
seh,  the  elder,  and,  aside  from  the  fact  of  joint  inherit¬ 
ance  in  the  multitude  of  posterity,  Ephraim  seems  to 
enjoy  the  special  Birthright,  or  first-born  distinctions. 
This  is  shown  in  several  ways ;  but  at  present  we  will 
only  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  God  says :  “I 

am  a  father  to  Israel,  and  Ephraim  is  my  first-born.” 
Jer.  31:9. 

We  have  in  this  man  Jeroboam,  a  servant  of  Solo¬ 
mon’s,  an  Ephraimite,  who  was  ruler  over  all  the  Birth¬ 
right  family.  God  had  told  Solomon,  that  after  his 
death  he  would  give  the  kingdom  to  his  servant,  but, 
not  all.  In  harmony  with  these  things  we  read : 

And  it  came  to  pass  that  at  the  time  when  Jeroboam 
went  out  of  Jerusalem,  that  the  prophet  Ahijah,  the 
Shilonite,  found  him  in  the  way ;  and  he  had  clad  him¬ 
self  with  a  new  garment ;  and  the  two  were  alone  in  the 
field.  And  Ahijah  caught  the  new  garment  that  was 
on  him,  and  rent  it  in  twelve  pieces.  And  he  said  to 
Jeroboam,  Take  thee  ten  pieces :  for  thus  saith  the 
Tord,  the  God  of  Israel,  Behold  I  will  rend  the  kingdom' 
out  of  the  hand  of  Solomon,  and  will  give  ten  tribes  to 
thee.  *  *  *  Howbeit  I  will  not  take  the  whole 
kingdom  out  of  his  hand:  *  *  *  for  David  my 
servant  s  sake,  whom  I  chose, — because  he  kept  my 
commandments  and  my  statutes.  But  I  will  take  the 
kingdom  out  of  his  son’s  hand,  and  will  give  it  unto 


Jacob's  Seed  Divided  into  Two  Kingdoms  53 

thee,  even  ten  tribes.  And  unto  his  son  will  I  give  one 
tribe,  that  David  my  servant  may  have  a  light  alway 
before  me  in  Jerusalem,  the  city  which  I  have  chosen 
to  put  my  name  there.  And  I  will  take  thee,  and  thou 
shalt  reign  according  to  all  that  thy  soul  desireth,  and 

thou  shalt  be  king  over  Israel." 

In  this  prophecy,  there  is  made  a  promise  to  a  son  of 
the  house  of  Joseph,  that  he  shall  reign  over  ten  tribes, 
and  be  king  over  Israel.  Hence  if  Jeroboam  ever  re¬ 
ceived  his  promised  kingdom,  it  must  have  been  formed 
by  a  confederacy  of  ten  of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  and  that 
ten-tribed  kingdom  or  confederation  must  needs  be 
called  “ISRAEL,”  or  the  prophecy  fails. 

After  this  prophecy,  which  God  gave  to  Ahijah  to  de¬ 
liver  to  Jeroboam,  was  made  public,  Solomon  became  so 
jealous  for  himself  and  posterity  that  he  undertook  to 
kill  Jeroboam ;  while  he,  in  order  to  escape  the  wrath  of 
Solomon,  fled  to  Egypt  and  remained  there  until  after 
the  death  of  Solomon.  At  the  death  of  Solomon  the 
royal  succession  fell  to  his  son,  Rehoboam,  who,  at  the 
time  of  his  accession,  had  gathered  with  all  Israel  at 
Shechem,  the  place  where,  for  reasons  which  will  be 
given  later,  Israel  crowned  her  sovereigns.  But  difficul¬ 
ties  arose.  The  people  had  grievances  which  they  want¬ 
ed  adjusted,  before  they  were  willing  to  submit  to  the 
rule  of  this  young  sovereign.  Solomon  had  laid  upon 
them  an  enormous  tax  for  the  building  and  furnishing 
of  the  temple  and  royal  palaces.  These  were  finished  and 
furnished,  but  the  taxes  were  not  abated.  Also  there 
was  this  taxation  without  representation  by  any  in  Is¬ 
rael,  except  from  the  royal  tribe  of  Judah.  Still,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  a  spirit  of  rebellion  had  possession 


54  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

of  them  because  of  these  facts,  they  were  willing  to 
hold  a  consultation  with  Rehoboam,  in  hope  that  their 
condition  might  be  bettered  and  amity  might  still  pre¬ 
vail.  So  they  made  Jeroboam  their  spokesman,  and 
directed  him  to  say  to  the  young  king;  “Thy  father 
made  our  yoke  grievous ;  now,  therefore,  make  thou  the 
grievous  service  of  thy  father,  and  his  heavy  yoke 
which  he  put  upon  us,  lighter,  and  we  will  serve  thee.” 

His  reply  to  this  request  was,  “Depart  yet  for  three 
days,  then  come  again  to  me.”  During  this  three  days 
of  grace,  which  he  had  asked,  and  they  had  granted, 
Rehoboam  first  consulted  with  the  old  men,  asking  them 
how  they  would  advise  him  to  answer  the  people.  They 
gave  him  wholesome  counsel,  saying  to  him  that  if  he 
would  “Speak  good  words  to  them,  then  they  will  be 
thy  servants  forever.” 

Then  he  consulted  with  the  young  men,  with  whom 
he  had  grown  up,  asking  them  how  they  would  advise 
him.  But  their  advice  was  hasty  and  hot-headed.  They 
said,  “Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto  them,  My  little  finger 
shall  be  thicker  than  my  father’s  loins.  And  now, 
whereas  my  father  did  lade  you  with  a  heavy  yoke,  I 
will  add  to  your  yoke :  my  father  chastised  you  with 
whips,  but  I  will  chastise  you  with  scorpions.” 

When  the  three  days  had  expired,  Jeroboam  and  the 
people  came  again  to  King  Rehoboam,  as  he  had  ap¬ 
pointed,  to  receive  the  answer  to  their  request.  Then 
Rehoboam  answered  them  roughly,  forsaking  the  coun¬ 
sel  of  the  old  men,  and  adhering  to  the  counsel  which 
the  young  men  in  their  pride  and  egotism  had  given, 
using  their  very  words. 


Jacob's  Seed  Divided  into  Two  Kingdoms  55 

“Whips”  and  “scorpions!”  How  insulting!  Surely  in 
all  the  figures  of  speech  there  could  not  have  been 
chosen  any  so  hard  for  that  elect  people  to  swallow. 
But  they  did  not  swallow  them  ;  they  rebelled.  The  com¬ 
mand  to  the  people  was,  “To  your  tents,  O  Israel !  The 
challenge  to  the  royal  house  was,  “Now,  see  to  thy  own 

house !” 

Rehoboam’s  next  move  was  to  send  Adoram,  who 
had  charge  of  the  tribute,  to  collect  the  taxes  then  due. 
But  instead  of  paying  their  taxes,  the  people  stoned  the 
man  to  death;  and  as  soon  as  Rehoboam  heard  this,. he 
fled  in  his  chariot,  and  with  all  speed,  to  Jerusalem. 

Then  comes  the  following:  “So  Israel  rebelled 
against  the  house  of  David  unto  this  day.  And  it  came 
to  pass,  when  all  Israel  heard  that  Jeroboam  was  Come 
again,  that  they  sent  and  called  him  unto  the  congrega¬ 
tion  and  made  him  king  over  all  Israel.  *  *  *  And 

when  Rehoboam  was  come  to  Jerusalem,  he  assembled 
all  the  house  of  Judah,  with  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  an 
hundred  and  four  score  thousand  men  which  were  war¬ 
riors,  to  fight  against  the  house  of  Israel,  to  bring  the 
kingdom  again  to  Rehoboam,  the  son  of  Solomon.  But 
the  word  of  God  came  unto  Shemaniah  the  man  of  God, 
saying,  Speak  unto  Rehoboam,  the  son  of  Solomon, 
king  of  Judah,  and  unto  all  the  house  of  Judah  and 
Benjamin,  and  to  the  remnant  of  the  people,  saying, 
Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Ye  shall  not  go  up,  nor  fight 
against  your  brethren  the  children  of  Israel :  return 
every  man  to  his  house  ;  for  this  thing  is  from  me.  i.  e., 

the  division.  I  Kings  12:19-24. 

Well  may  the  Lord  say,  “This  thing  is  from  me.”  In 
the  division  of  that  race  into  two  kingdoms,  he  has  ful- 


56  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

filled  his  word  to  Solomon  concerning  the  rending  of 
the  kingdom  out  of  the  hand  of  his  son,  and  giving  it  to 
his  servant.  Yet,  in  doing  so,  he  remembered  not  only 
his  oath  to  David,  but  also  his  word  to  Solomon,  in  that 
he  did  not  rend  away  all  the  kingdom ;  for  there  was 
one  tribe,  that  of  Benjamin,  left  with  the  royal  tribe. 

Also  the  prophecy  of  Ahijah  to  Jeroboam  was  ful¬ 
filled,  for  he  became  king  of  the  ten-tribed  kingdom, 
which,  by  Divine  appointment,  retained  the  national 
name  of  Israel,  while  that  of  Judah  was  given  to  the 
other  kingdom.  Thus  the  titles  “House  of  Israel,”  and 
the  “House  of  Judah”  are  used  to  designate  the  two 
kingdoms,  as  they  stand  separated  and  in  opposition  to 
each  other. 

Moreover,  since  the  Birthright  tribes,  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh,  went  with  the  ten-tribed  kingdom,  and  a 
scion  of  the  house  of  Joseph,  to  whom  pertains  the 
Birthright,  was  king  over  that  kingdom,  and  a  son 
of  the  royal  house  of  Judah,  to  whom  pertains  the 
Sceptre,  was  king  over  the  other  kingdom,  which 
bears  the  name  of  the  inheritor  of  the  Sceptre,  then, 
surely,  the  Sceptre  and  the  Birthright  were  separated 
then  and  there.  They  were  not  only  separated, 
but  each  became  a  nucleus  around  which  either  the 
one  or  the  other,  of  all  the  seed  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  did  gather.  Thus  the  SCEPTRE  and  the 
BIRTHRIGHT  families  each  became  the  head  and 
representative  of  a  distinct  nation,  or  commonwealth. 
Each  was  then  free  to  go  forward,  independent  of  the 
other,  and  fulfill  its  God-appointed  destiny;  one  to  ful¬ 
fill  the  first  covenant  which  the  Lord  made  with  their 


Jacob's  Seed  Divided  into  Two  Kingdoms  57 

father  Abraham,  that  of  becoming  many  nations,  and 
the  other  to  fulfill  the  second  covenant  of  bringing  forth 
the  Messiah. 

The  first  thing  recorded  of  Jeroboam,  as  king  of  Is¬ 
rael,  is  that  he  built  the  city  of  Shechem,  in  Mount 
Ephraim,  and  dwelt  there.  This  city  was  the  first 
capital  of  that  kingdom.  From  there  the  king  of  Is¬ 
rael  went  out  and  built  the  city  of  Penuel,  and  seemed 
to  prosper  for  a  short  season.  But  Jeroboam  fell  to 
thinking  that,  if  his  subjects  were  allowed  to  continue 
going  to  Jerusalem  to  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord,  their 
hearts  would  turn  again  to  Rehoboam,  whose  capital 
city  it  was,  and  they  would  then  kill  him,  and  go  again 
to  the  kingdom  of  Judah. 

Therefore  he  made  two  calves  of  gold,  and  said 
unto  the  people,  “It  is  too  much  (trouble)  for  you  to 
go  to  Jerusalem :  behold  thy  gods,  O  Israel,  which 
brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  And  he  set 
one  in  Bethel,  and  one  in  Dan.  And  this  thing  became 
a  sin,  for  the  people  went  to  worship  before  the  one  (in 
Bethel),  and  even  unto  Dan.  And  he  made  a  house 
of  high  places,  and  made  priests  of  the  lowest  of  the 
people,  which  were  not  of  the  sons  of  Levi. 

And  Jeroboam  ordained  a  feast  in  the  eighth  month, 
on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  month,  like  unto  the  feast 
that  is  in  Judah,  and  he  offered  upon  the  altar.  So  did 
he  in  Bethel,  sacrificing  unto  the  calves  that  he  had 
made:  and  he  placed  in  Bethel  the  priests  of  the  high 
places  which  he  had  made.  So  he  offered  upon  the 
altar  which  he  had  made  in  Bethel,  on  the  fifteenth  day 
of  the  eighth  month,  even  in  the  month  which  he  had 


58  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

devised  in  his  own  heart ;  and  ordained  a  feast  unto  the 
Children  of  Israel,  and  he  offered  upon  the  altar  and 
burnt  incense.”  i  Kings  12:28-33. 

This  was  the  great  sin  which  was  such  a  curse  to  the 
people.  But  we  want  you  to  note  just  how  the  Lord 
speaks  of  it.  After  the  prophet  whom  he  had  sent  out 
of  Judah  had  proclaimed  the  doom  of  Jeroboam,  he 
further  adds :  “The  Lord  shall  smite  Israel,  as  a  reed  is 
shaken  in  the  water,  and  he  shall  root  up  Israel  out  of 
his  good  land,  which  he  gave  to  their  fathers,  and  shall 
scatter  them  beyond  the  river,  because  they  have  made 
their  groves,  provoking  the  Lord  to  anger.  And  he 
shall  give  Israel  up  because  of  the  sins  of  Jeroboam, 
who  did  sin,  and  who  made  Israel  to  sin.”  1  Kings 

14  :J5>  16. 

Dear  reader,  please  note  that  it  was  Israel,  and  not 
Judah,  over  which  Jeroboam  reigned;  that  it  was  Is¬ 
rael,  and  not  Judah,  whom  he  caused  to  sin ;  that  it  was 
Israel  the  ten-tribed  kingdom,  and  not  Judah,  the  royal 
kingdom,  that  worshiped  those  two  golden  calves 
which  Jeroboam  the  king  of  Israel  had  set  up  in  his 
own  territory,  and  not  in  the  land  of  Judah ;  that  it  was 
Israel  whom  the  Lord  declared  he  would  give  up,  root 
out  of  that  land,  and  scatter  beyond  the  river,  because 
of  this  thing.  For  the  people  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah 
never  did  worship  those  golden  calves ;  neither  did  they 
worship  at  Bethel,  nor  in  Dan :  they  worshiped  in  Je¬ 
rusalem.  Later,  the  royal  kingdom  did  go  into  idol¬ 
atry  ;  but  it  was  Baalism,  and  not  this  special  form  of 
idolatry  which  had  its  origin  in  Jeroboam,  for  this  was 
confined  alone  to  Israel. 


Jacob’s  Seed  Divided  into  Two  Kingdoms  59 

We  find  that  the  history  of  the  two  kingdoms  is  in¬ 
termingled  throughout  the  books  of  First  and  Second 
Kings,  but  never  confounded.  So  that,  with  a  little 
care  and  thoughtfulness  on  our  part,  there  need  be  no 
confusion.  For  instance,  it  is  recorded  that,  “The  days 
which  Jeroboam  reigned  were  two-and-twenty  years, 
and  he  slept  with  his  fathers,  and  Nadab,  his  son, 
reigned  in  his  stead.”  i  Kings  14:20.  But  the  very 
next  verse  tells  us  that,  “Rehoboam,  the  son  of  Solo¬ 
mon,  reigned  in  Judah.  Rehoboam  was  forty  years  old 
when  he  began  to  reign,  and  he  reigned  seventeen  years 
in  Jerusalem.”  The  two  reigns  began  simultaneously. 
If  Jeroboam’s  reign  lasted  for  twenty-two  years,  and 
Rehoboam’s  only  for  seventeen  years,  then  it  must 
needs  be  that  some  other  king  or  kings  reigned  for  five 
years  contemporaneously  with  Jeroboam,  unless  the 
kingdom  of  Judah  had  collapsed ;  but  it  had  not.  So  the 
record  declares,  “Now,  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  Jero¬ 
boam,  the  son  of  Nabat,  reigned  Abijah  over  Judah. 
Three  years  reigned  he  in  Jerusalem.”  1  Kings  15 :  1. 
Seventeen  years  for  Rehoboam  and  three  for  Abijah, 
are  only  twenty  of  Jeroboam’s  twenty-two  years.  So 
if  the  record  be  correct,  we  shall  expect  it  to  tell  who 
ascended  the  throne  of  Judah  in  the  twentieth  year  of 
Jeroboam’s  reign.  This  it  does  do,  as  follows  :  “And 
in  the  twentieth  year  of  Jeroboam,  king  of  Israel, 
reigned  Asa  over  Judah.”  1  Kings  15:9. 

Now,  if  Asa  lived  and  reigned  more  than  two  years, 
he  lived  to  see  the  death  of  Jeroboam  and  the  elevation 
of  his  successor.  Hence,  the  record  continues :  “And 
Nadab,  the  son  of  Jeroboam,  began  to  reign  over  Is¬ 
rael  in  the  second  year  of  Asa,  king  of  Judah,  and 


60  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

reigned  over  Israel  two  years.  And  he  did  evil  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord,  and  walked  in  the  ways  of  his  father, 
and  in  the  sin  wherewith  he  made  Israel  to  sin.” 

Then  follows  a  record  of  the  fulfillment  of  the 
prophecy  concerning  the  doom  of  Jeroboam,  viz.,  the 
entire  destruction  of  his  family,  at  the  hand  of  Baasha, 
of  the  house  of  Issachar,  who  reigned  instead  of  Nadab 
son  of  Jeroboam.  Hence  it  is  recorded  that  “In  the 
third  year  of  Asa,  king  of  Judah,  began  Baasha,  the 
son  of  Ahijah,  to  reign  over  all  Israel  in  Tirzah, 
twenty-and-four  years.  And  he  did  evil  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord,  and  walked  in  the  ways  of  Jeroboam,  and  in 
his  sin  wherewith  he  made  Israel  to  sin.”  i  Kings 
I5.‘33,  34- 

We  have  brought  you  down  to  the  contemporaneous 
reigns  of  Asa,  the  third  king  in  Judah,  and  Baasha,  the 
third  king  in  Israel,  not  only  to  show  that  there  need  be 
no  confusion  in  this  intermingled  history,  but  also  for 
another  purpose,  which  follows.  You  will  notice  that 
in  the  last  quotation,  the  expression  “all  Israel”  occurs, 
while  in  the  twenty-second  verse  is  the  corresponding 
expression  “all  Judah.”  “Then  King  Asa  made  a 
proclamation  throughout  all  Judah”  These  expres¬ 
sions,  all  Israel  and  all  Judah,  are  undoubtedly  used  as 
contradistinctive  titles  of  the  two  kingdoms  into  which 
the  people  were  divided. 

The  expression  “all  Israel,”  as  used  in  the  above 
quotation,  and  with  the  same  meaning  in  many  other 
places  in  the  Scriptures,  has  confused  many  students. 
They  seem  to  think  it  means,  or  ought  to  mean,  all  the 
people  who  are  the  descendants  of  Israel,  i.  e.,  all  Is¬ 
raelites  ;  whereas  it  simply  means,  in  this  instance,  and 


Jacob's  Seed  Divided  into  Two  Kingdoms  61 

many  others,  all  the  country  occupied  by  the  ten  tribes 
which  formed  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  just  as  the  expres¬ 
sion  “all  Judah,”  or  “all  Judaea”— the  Greek  form  of 
the  same  term — is  used  to  designate  all  of  the  country 
which  was  given  to  the  tribes  of  Judah  and  Benjamin, 
they  being  the  tribes  which  composed  the  kingdom  of 
Judah.  Jerusalem,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom,  was  lo¬ 
cated  in  that  portion  allotted  to  Benjamin,  and  Judah  s 
portion  was  the  hill  country  south  of  Jerusalem. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ALL  ISRAELITES  ARE  NOT  JEWS. 

After  the  division  which  occurred  among  the  seed  of 
Abraham  in  the  days  of  Jeroboam  and  Rehoboam,  and 
before  the  two  kingdoms  had  settled  down  to  steady 
going,  there  arose  several  contingencies  which  we  must 
understand,  before  we  can  intelligently  follow  their 
history  any  farther. 

By  consulting  the  eleventh  chapter  of  Second  Chron¬ 
icles  we  find  a  brief  recapitulation  of  the  history  of  the 
revolt  of  the  Ten  Tribes,  to  which  are  added  further  de¬ 
tails  as  to  the  result,  a  list  of  the  cities  which  were  built 
by  Rehoboam  for  the  defense  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah, 
and  the  following : 

“And  he  fortified  the  strongholds,  and  put  captains  in 
them,  and  stores  of  victuals,  and  of  oil  and  wine.  And 
in  every  several  city  he  put  shields  and  spears,  and 
made  them  exceeding  strong,  having  Judah  and  Benja¬ 
min  on  his  side.  And  the  priests  and  the  Levites  that 
were  in  all  Israel  (i.  e.,  the  territory  of  country  occu¬ 
pied  by  the  ten-tribed  kingdom)  resorted  to  him  out 
of  all  their  coasts.  For  the  Levites  left  their  suburbs 
and  their  possessions,  and  came  to  Judah  and  Jerusa¬ 
lem  :  for  Jeroboam  and  his  sons  had  cast  them  off  from 
executing  the  priest's  office  unto  the  Lord :  And  he 
ordained  him  priests  for  the  high  places,  and  for  the 
devils,  and  for  the  calves  which  he  had  made.  And 
alter  them  out  of  all  the  tribes  of  Israel  such  as  set  their 


62 


63 


All  Israelites  are  not  Jews 

hearts  to  seek  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  came  to  Jerusa¬ 
lem,  to  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord  God  of  their  fathers.  So 
they  strengthened  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  and  made 
Rehoboam,  the  son  of  Solomon,  strong.”  2  Chron.  11 : 
n-17. 

These  statements  make  it  clear  that,  after  Jeroboam, 
the  king  of  Israel,  had  set  up  those  golden  calves,  and 
made  priests  of  the  lowest  of  the  people,  he  would  not 
allow  the  Levites,  whom  the  Lord  had  made  the  priestly 
tribe  of  the  race,  execute  any  priestly  offices,  or  to  con¬ 
duct  any  services  unto  the  Lord  God  of  their  fathers ; 
and  for  this  reason  they  returned  to  Rehoboam,  who 
already,  as  is  affirmed,  had  the  tribes  of  Judah  and  Ben¬ 
jamin  on  his  side.  Thus  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  for  a 
while  at  least,  was  composed  of  three  tribes,  in  addition 
to  those  scattered  families  out  of  all  the  rest  of  the 
tribes  who  would  not  forsake  the  worship  of  the  God 
of  Israel,  and  who  would  not  worship  the  calves  which 
Jeroboam  had  set  up ;  but  those  people  evidently  lost 
their  tribal  relations  and  were  assimilated  into  one  of 
the  three  tribes  of  which  the  kingdom  of  Judah  was 
composed,  for  in  all  the  history  and  prophecy  which 
concerns  the  three-tribed  kingdom,  there  are  no  tribal 
names  used,  save  only  those  of  Judah,  Benjamin  and 
Levi. 

Before  we  carry  the  history  of  these  two  kingdoms 
any  farther,  or  leave  the  A  B  C  of  this  matter,  we  deem 
it  important  to  place  before  our  readers  an  array  of 
Scripture  texts,  in  which  both  houses,  kingdoms,  na¬ 
tions,  or  families  of  Abraham’s  posterity,  through  the 
Isaac-Jacob  line,  are  spoken  of  in  the  same  passage  in 


64  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

such  a  way  that  the  most  simple  minded  cannot  fail  to 
see  that  two  distinct  peoples  are  being  considered. 

We  cannot,  however,  at  this  juncture,  give  the  rela¬ 
tive  place  of  these  Scriptures,  as  regards  the  history, 
past,  present  and  future,  of  these  people  under  consid¬ 
eration.  We  place  these  Scriptures  before  you,  only  to 
show,  at  present,  that  ever  after  the  division  of  the 
people  into  two  commonwealths,  in  the  days  of  Reho-  ^ 
boam  and  Jeroboam,  they  were  recognized  in  scriptural 
history  and  prophecy  as  two  kingdoms  or  nations. 

For  instance,  take  the  following — “Behold  the  days 
come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  perform  that  good 
thing  which  I  have  promised  unto  the  house  of  Israel, 
and  to  the  house  of  Judah.”  Jer.  33 114.  Here  the  Lord 
has  promised  to  perform  a  certain,  “good  thing”  for 
“The  house  of  Israel but  he  has  just  as  assuredly 
promised  to  perform  that  same  certain  “good  thing”  for 
the  house  of  Judah,  as  well  as  for  Israel,  for  the  house 
of  Judah  is  not  included  in  the  house  of  Israel,  and  vice 
versa. 

Take  another,  as  follows :  “And  I  will  cause  the  cap¬ 
tivity  of  Judah  and  the  capitivity  of  Israel  to  return, 
and  will  build  them  as  at  the  first.”  Jer.  33  7.  Here 
it  is  a  question  not  only  of  “the  captivity  of  Judah,” 
but  also  “the  captivity  of  Israel.”  Neither  is  it  a  ques¬ 
tion  only  of  the  return  of  the  captivity  of  Judah,  for 
there  is  promised  also  in  the  same  sentence  the  return 
of  the  captivity  of  Israel,  i.  e.,  a  people  who  are  not 
included  with  “Judah.” 

Again,  “For  lo!  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I 
will  bring  again  the  captivity  of  my  people  Israel  and 
Judah,  saith  the  Lord :  and  I  will  cause  them  to  return 


All  Israelites  are  not  Jews  65 

to  the  land  that  I  gave  to  their  fathers,  and  they  shall 
possess  it.  And  these  are  the  words  that  the  Lord 
spake  concerning  Israel  and  concerning  Judah/’  Jer. 
30:  3,  4.  Here  is  something  that  concerns  Judah;  but 
it  also  concerns  Israel ;  and  the  people  whom  it  concerns 
are  “my  people  Israel  and  Judah.”  So,  if  Judah,  the 
Jews,  are  the  people  of  the  Lord,  then  the  Lord  has  a 
people  besides  the  Jews  whom  he  calls  Israel,  and  who 
are  not  counted  among  the  Jews. 

Still  another:  “For  the  children  of  Israel,  and  the 
children  of  Judah  have  only  done  evil  before  me  from 
their  youth.”  Jer.  32:30.  You  see  that  while  speak¬ 
ing  of  the  evildoing  of  his  people,  it  was  not  sufficient 
for  the  Lord  to  speak  of  the  children  of  Israel  only, 
but  the  children  of  Judah  must  also  be  included,  in 
order  to  embrace  all  who  are  under  consideration. 

In  Jer.  13  :ii,  we  have  indisputable  proofs  of  the  two 
houses,  since  the  broadest  generic  terms  possible  are 
used.  Here  it  is :  “For  as  a  girdle  cleaveth  to  the  loins 
of  a  man,  so  have  I  caused  to  cleave  unto  me  the  whole 
house  of  Israel  and  the  whole  house  of  Judah ,  saith  the 
Lord ;  that  they  might  be  unto  me  for  a  people,  and  for 
a  name,  and  for  a  praise,  and  for  a  glory;  but  they 
would  not  hear.”  This  statement  gives  us  to  under¬ 
stand  that  “the  whole  house  of  Judah”  are  not  all  of 
the  Lord’s  people,  and  that  “the  whole  house  of  Israel” 
are  not  all  of  the  Lord’s  people ;  but  that  it  takes  “the 
whole  house  of  Israel”  together  with  “the  whole  house 
of  Judah”  to  make  all  of  his  chosen  people. 

It  also  proves  that  there  is  a  people  called  “the  whole 
house  of  Israel”  of  which  “the  whole  house  of  Judah” 
is  regarded  as  neither  part  nor  parcel.  True,  they  are 


Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 


brethren,  because  they  all  are  of  the  seed  of  Jacob.  As 
such,  they  are  Jacobites, — or,  since  Jacob’s  name  was 
changed  to  Israel  his  descendants  may  all  be  called 
Israelites.  But  it  is  a  fact  that  the  seed  of  Jacob  have 
been  divided,  by  the  will,  the  decree,  and  the  direct  in¬ 
tervention  of  God,  into  two  kingdoms,  or  nations,  one 
of  which,  when  politically  considered,  is  called  “the 
whole  house  of  Israel,”  “the  children  of  Israel,”  “the 
house  of  Israel,”  “all  Israel,”  and  “Israel”;  while  the 
other  nation  is  called  “the  whole  house  of  Judah,” 
“the  house  of  Judah,”  “the  children  of  Judah,”  “all 
Judah,”  and  “Judah,”  or  “the  Jews.” 

The  name  Jew  is  derived  from,  or  rather  is  a  corrup¬ 
tion  of,  the  name  of  Judah  (Singular  Ju-dah,  or  Jew- 
dah;  plural,  Ju-dahs,  or  Jew-dahs;  possessive,  Ju-dah’s, 
or  Jew-dah’s;  contracted,  Jew,  Jews  and  Jew’s).  Hence 
it  is  that  the  names  Jew  and  Jews  are  applied  only  to 
the  people  who  composed  the  kingdom  of  Judah.  Also 
it  was  their  land  only  which  was  designated  as  “Judah” 
and  “all  Judah,”  and  which  finally  became  known  as 
“Judea”  and  “Jewry,"  “all  Judea”  and  “ALL 
JEWRY.” 

Indeed,  long  before  the  division  took  place,  Moses, 
while  prophesying  unto  the  seed  of  Jacob,  cried  out, 
“Hear,  Lord,  the  voice  of  Judah,  and  bring  him  unto 
his  people.”  This  can  mean  nothing  else,  except  that 
Judah  was  to  be  separated  from  his  people,  and  finally, 
if  that  prayer  is  ever  answered,  was  to  be  brought  back 
to  them. 

But  let  us  continue  our  array  of  texts  in  which  both 
houses  are  mentioned,  almost  in  the  same  breath.  “And 


I 


saw,  when  for  all  the  causes  whereby  backsliding 


■ 


All  Israelites  are  not  Jews 


6  7 


Israel  committed  adultery  I  had  put  her  away,  and 
given  her  a  bill  of  divorce ;  yet  her  treacherous  sister 
Judah,  feared  not,  but  went  and  played  the  harlot  also/’ 

Jer.  3 : 8. 

Here  Israel  and  Judah  are  not  the  same; 

They  are  only  sisters,  both  in  shame. 

“And  the  Lord  said  unto  me,  That  backsliding  Israel 
hath  justified  herself  more  than  treacherous  Judah/’ 
Jer.  3:11. 

Here  Israel,  in  idolatry  the  adulterous, 

Is  justified  more  than  Judah,  the  treacherous: 

although  God  had  said,  “Though  thou,  Israel,  play  the 
harlot,  yet  let  not  Judah  offend.”  Hosea4:I5*  And  he 
also  said,  “I  will  no  more  have  mercy  upon  the  house 
of  Israel  [that  I  should  altogether  pardon  them — 
Margin ].  But  I  will  have  mercy  upon  the  house  of 
Judah,  and  will  save  them  by  the  Lord  their  God. 

Hosea  1 :  6,  7. 

The  name,  “Jerusalem”  is  often  used  to  designate  the 
Jewish  people  because  it  was  their  chief  city.  When 
Jesus  wept  over  the  city  and  cried  out  “Jerusalem,  Je¬ 
rusalem,  *  *  *  how  oft  would  I  have  gathered 

you  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  brood  under  her  wing,  but 
ye  would  not !”  he  did  not  mean  the  streets  and  build¬ 
ings  of  the  city,  but  the  people ;  and  not  only  the  people 
dwelling  within  the  walls,  but  the  nation  as  well.  For 
it  was  not  only  the  Jewish  capital — but  it  was  their 
metropolis,  their  commercial  center,  their  citadel,  their 
royal  city,  their  sanctuary  and  in  every  way  the  rep¬ 
resentative  city  of  their  nation. 


68  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

This  being  true,  we  may  expect  that  the  name  of  the 
capital  city  of  the  ten-tribed  kingdom  would  be  used  as 
a  representative  name  and  applied  to  that  nation.  Also, 
since  the  name  of  Judah  was  given  as  a  national  name 
for  the  Jewish  people,  because  of  the  fact  that  it  was 
one  of  the  royal  sons  from  the  tribe  of  Judah  who  led 
the  revolt  when  she  became  a  separate  nation,  and  the 
fact  that  her  kings  were  of  Judah’s  line,  thus  making 
the  tribe  of  Judah  the  representative  tribe,  so  we  might 
expect  the  same  thing  with  reference  to  the  ten-tribed 
kingdom.  Jeroboam  reigned  over  Israel  in  Shechem 
twenty-two  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Nadab,  his 
son,  who  reigned  two  years.  After  this,  Baasha  con¬ 
spired  against  him,  killed  him,  and  reigned  in  his  stead ; 
but  he  moved  the  capital  to  Tirzah,  where  he  reigned 
for  twenty-four  years,  and  was  followed  by  his  son, 
Elah,  who  reigned  in  that  city  two  years.  Then  he 
was  conspired  against  by  Zimri,  who  reigned  only  seven 
days,  until  he  in  turn  was  conspired  against  and  died 
by  burning  the  king’s  house  down  over  his  own  head. 
Then  Omri,  who  had  conspired  against  Zimri  and  suc¬ 
ceeded  him  to  the  throne,  bought  a  hill  from  Shemar, 
on  which  he  built  the  city  of  Samaria,  which  became 
the  permanent  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  Honce 
the  name  of  the  chief  city  of  Israel,  Samaria,  is  often 
used,  when  referring  to  Israel,  in  the  same  representa¬ 
tive  way  that  Jerusalem  is,  in  the  case  of  the  Jews. 

For  an  example  take  the  following:  “Thy  Calf,  O 
Samaria,  hath  cast  thee  off;  mine  anger  is  kindled 
against  them :  how  long  will  it  be  ere  they  attain  to 
innocency?  For  from  Israel  was  it  also:  the  workman 
made  it;  therefore  it  is  net  God:  but  the  Calf  of  Sa- 


69 


All  Israelites  are  not  Jews 

maria  shall  be  broken  in  pieces.”  Hosea  8:  5>  6.  Of 
course,  the  calf  herein  referred  to  is  the  calf  worship 
instituted  by  Jeroboam,  who  caused  Israel  to  sin,  and 
since  the  calves  were  made  by  the  workmen  of  Israel, 
they  were  not  God.  So  we  see  that  Samaria  stands  for 
Israel,  whose  capital  it  is,  and  whose  own  workmen 
had  made  the  calf  which  they  themselves  worshiped. 

But  this  nation  has  another  name  which  stands  for 
the  whole,  as  well  as  that  of  Israel  and  Samaria.  Look 
ye !  “When  I  would  have  healed  Israel,  then  the  in¬ 
iquity  of  Ephraim  was  discovered,  and  the  wickedness 
of  Samaria  :  for  they  commit  falsehood.”  Hosea  7  :i. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  name  of  Ephraim  is  used  as  a 
representative  name  for  the  northern  kingdom,  just  as 
the  name  of  Judah  is  used  for  the  southern  kingdom, 
and  that  the  names  Israel,  Ephraim  and  Samaria  are 
used  as  names  of  the  ten-tribed  kingdom  in  contradis¬ 
tinction  to  those  of  the  three-tribed  kingdom,  which 

are  Judah,  Jerusalem,  and  the  Jews. 

On  the  very  day  on  which  Moses  died,  while  he  was 
reiterating  and  enlarging  upon  the  prophecies  which 
Jacob  had  given  at  the  time  of  his  death,  he  made  a 
prophecy  concerning  the  pre-eminence  of  Ephraim  in 
Joseph-Israel,  as  follows :  “Let  the  blessing  come  upon 
the  head  of  Joseph,  and  upon  the  top  of  the  head  of  him 
that  was  separated  from  his  brethren.  His  glory  is 
like  the  firstling  of  his  bullock,  and  his  horns  are  like 
the  horns  of  unicorns :  with  them  he  shall  push  the 
people  together  to  the  ends  of  the  earth :  and  they  are 
the  ten  thousands  of  Ephraim,  and  they  are  the  thou¬ 
sands  of  Manasseh.” 


7°  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

With  the  name  of  Ephraim  standing  at  the  head  of 
one  of  the  two  nations  of  Jacob,  and  the  name  of  Judah 
at  the  head  of  the  other,  we  can  easily  understand  such 
expressions  as  the  following :  “O  Ephraim,  what  shall 
I  do  unto  thee?  O  Judah,  what  shall  I  do  unto  thee? 
For  your  goodness  is  as  a  morning  cloud,  and  as  the 
early  dew  it  goeth  away.”  Hosea  6:4. 

Since  both  Judah,  the  fourth  son  of  Jacob,  and  Eph¬ 
raim,  the  second  son  of  Joseph,  had  been  dead  for 
nearly  one  thousand  years  prior  to  the  writing  of  these 
Scriptures  which  we  have  just  given,  we  must  know 
that  these  are  national  names,  used  to  represent  the  na¬ 
tional  conditions  of  the  two  nations  which  are  ad¬ 
dressed. 

So,  also,  is  the  following :  “Therefore  will  I  be  unto 
Ephraim  as  a  moth,  and  to  the  house  of  Judah  as  rot¬ 
tenness.  When  Ephraim  saw  his  sickness,  and  Judah 
saw  his  wound,  then  went  Ephraim  to  the  Assyrian, 
and  sent  to  King  Jared ;  yet  he  could  not  heal  you  of 
your  wound.  For  I  will  be  unto  Ephraim  as  a  lion, 
and  as  a  young  lion  to  the  house  of  Judah:  I,  even  I, 
will  tear  and  go  away,  and  none  shall  rescue  them.  I 
will  go  and  return  to  my  place,  until  they  acknowledge 
their  offence,  and  seek  my  face :  in  their  affliction  they 
will  seek  me  early.”  Hosea  5 :  12-15. 

Before  proceeding  further  with  the  history  of  these 
two  kingdoms,  there  is  one  other  point  which  must  be 
settled  once  for  all.  This  is  that  the  people  of  God 
whom  he  distinctively  calls  “Israel,”  the  heads  of  which 
are  the  birthright  holders,  unto  whom  was  given  that 
national  name — it  coming  to  them  with  the  birthright 


All  Israelites  are  not  Jews  71 

at  the  time  of  the  transfer  of  that  inheritance — are  not 
Jews,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  has  never,  either  in  Biblical 
history  or  prophecy,  called  them  Jews,  and  that  they 
have  never  been  called  Jews  except  by  uninformed  his¬ 
torians  and  by  unscriptural  teachers  of  the  Word  of 
God. 

Understand  us :  we  do  not  say  that  the  Jews  are  not 
Israelites ;  they  belong  to  the  posterity  of  Jacob,  who 
was  called  Israel ;  hence  they  are  all  Israelites.  But  the 
great  bulk  of  Israelites  are  not  the  Jews,  just  as  the 
great  bulk  of  Americans  are  not  Californians,  and  yet 
all  Californians  are  Americans ;  also,  as  in  writing  the 
history  of  America  we  must  of  necessity  write  the  his¬ 
tory  of  California,  because  California  is  a  part  of  Amer¬ 
ica  ;  but  we  could  write  a  history  of  California  without 

writing  a  history  of  America. 

So,  in  writing  the  history  of  Israel  we  must  needs 
write  the  history  of  the  Jews,  but  we  could  write  the 
history  of  the  Jews  and  not  write  the  history  of  Israel. 
Or,  in  other  words,  in  writing  the  history  of  the  many 
nations  we  must  write  the  history  of  the  Jews,  for,  to 
say  the  least,  they  are  one  of  those  many  nations ;  but 
in  writing  the  history  of  the  Jews,  it  would  be  utterly 
impossible  to  write  the  history  of  the  many  nations 
which  were  promised  to  the  birthright  people,  whose 
national  name  is,  in  a  special  sense,  Israel,  and  whose 
people  are  not  Jews.  Nationally  speaking,  they  are 
brother  nations,  but  not  always  very  brotherly.  But 
if  we  can  keep  track  of  the  birthright  nation,  and  if  they 
ever  have  that  birthright  promise  fulfilled  to  them,  then, 
and  only  then,  can  we  write  the  history  of  the  many 


72  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

nations  which  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  promised  unto 
their  fathers  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob-Israel,  Joseph,  and 
Ephraim  and  Manasseh. 

It  will  help  us  much  in  our  study  of  this  question,  to 
know  just  when  and  under  what  circumstances  the 
word  Jew  is  first  used  in  the  canon  of  Sacred  Scrip¬ 
ture. 

It  was  not  until  more  than  two  hundred  years  after 
the  revolt  of  the  ten  tribes  from  the  house  of  David.  It 
was  at  a  time  when  Pekah,  son  of  Remaliah,  king  of 
Israel,  formed  a  federation  with  Rezin,  king  of  Syria, 
and  came  up  against  Ahaz,  king  of  Judah,  to  war  for 
acquisition  of  territory.  Notice  how  the  prophet  of 
God  speaks  of  these  three  nations  Israel,  Syria  and 
Judah.  He  declares:  “And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  days 
of  Ahaz,  the  son  of  Jotham,  the  son  of  Uziah,  king  of 
Judah,  that  Rezin,  the  king  of  Syria,  and  Pekah,  the 
son  of  Remaliah,  king  of  Israel,  went  up  toward  Jeru¬ 
salem  to  war  against  it  (Jerusalem  was  the  throne  seat 
of  Judah)  but  could  not  prevail  against  it.  And  it  was 
told  the  house  of  David,  saying,  Syria  is  confederate 
with  Ephraim.”  Isa.  7:1,  2.  The  prophet  further 
explains,  that  “The  head  of  Syria  is  Damascus,  (Da¬ 
mascus  was  the  capital  of  Syria)  and  the  head  of 
Damascus  is  Rezin  (King  of  Syria)  ;  and  within  three- 
score-and-five  (65)  years  shall  Ephraim  be  broken  that 
it  be  not  a  people.  ( Marginal — from  being  a  people.) 
And  the 'head  of  Ephraim  is  Samaria,  and  the  head  of 
Samaria  is  Remaliah ’s  son.”  Isa.  7  9.  Remaliah’s 

son  was  Pekah,  king  of  Israel. 

What  Isaiah  had  to  say  concerning  this  war  was  for 
the  purpose  of  making  prophecies  concerning  the  out- 


73 


All  Israelites  are  not  Jews 

come.  We  must  pass  over  the  prophecies  for  the  pres¬ 
ent,  as  our  object  now  is  to  show  the  difference  between 
the  Jew  and  Israel  and  we  have  simply  quoted  sufficient 
for  our  purpose. 

We  now  turn  to  the  historic  record  of  that  war,  and 
read:  “In  the  seventeenth  year  (as  king)  of  Pekah, 
the  son  of  Remaliah,  Ahaz,  the  son  of  Jotham,  king  of 
Judah,  began  to  reign,  and  reigned  sixteen  years  in 
Jerusalem.  *  *  Then  Rezin,  king  of  Syria,  and 

Pekah,  son  of  Remaliah,  king  of  Israel,  came  up  to  Je¬ 
rusalem  to  war;  and  they  besieged  Ahaz  (king  of 
Judah),  but  could  not  overcome  him.  At  that  time 
Rezin,  king  of  Syria,  recovered  Elath  to  Syria,  and 
drave  the  Jews  from  Elath ;  and  the  Syrians  dwell  there 
unto  this  day.  So  Ahaz  sent  messengers  to  Tiglath- 
pileser,  king  of  Assyria,  saying,  I  am  thy  servant  and 
thy  son ;  come  up  and  save  me  out  of  the  hand  of  the 
king  of  Syria,  and  out  of  the  hand  of  the  king  of  Israel, 
which  rise  up  against  me.”  2  Kings,  16:  i,  2,  5-7. 

Here  we  have  it  clearly  stated  that  in  this  war  the 
besieging  party  is,  “Pekah,  the  king  of  Israel/’  who 
is  the  “head  of  Samaria,”  which  is  the  head  of  “Eph¬ 
raim,”  together  with  another  nation  with  whom  they 
are  confederate.  And  if  we  put  it  as  Isaiah  does  con¬ 
cerning  the  other  house,  the  besieged  party  was  “Ahaz, 
king  of  Judah,”  head  of  “the  Jews,”  whose  head  is 
“Jerusalem,”  the  head  of  the  house  of  David. 

Do  you  see  the  point?  The  king  of  Judah,  or  the 
king  of  the  Jews,  was  besieged  in  his  capital,  and 
wanted  to  form  an  alliance  with  the  king  of  Assyria 
and,  to  secure  him  as  an  ally,  even  fawned  upon  the 


74  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

king  of  Assyria,  saying  “I  am  thy  servant,  thy  son," 
and  crying  “Come  up!"  What  for?  To  save  the 
JEWS  from  the  hand  of  ISRAEL . 

Thus  we  see  that  the  first  time  the  word  Jews  is  used 
in  the  history  of  the  Abrahamic  race  is  at  a  time  when 
the  Jews  and  Israel  were  at  war  with  each  other.  Hence 
we  ask,  If  the  Jews  were  the  besieged  and  Israel  was 
with  the  besiegers,  how  can  it  be  possible  that  the  Jews 
and  Israel  are  one  and  the  same  people? 

According  to  the  conclusion  of  the  great  number  of 
our  learned  men,  also  some  “higher  (?)  critics,"  we 
must  needs  conclude  that  the  Jews  were  fighting  their 
own  shadow,  which  would  be  reducing  the  whole  mat¬ 
ter  to  an  argumentum  ad  absurdum . 

It  is  high  time  for  the  Christian  world,  yea,  and  all 
secular  historians,  too,  “to  awake  out  of  sleep,"  take 
the  advice  of  the  learned  Apostle  Paul  and  “cease 
giving  heed  to  Jewish  fables"  and  quit  telling  the  peo¬ 
ple  that  all  Israelites  are  Jews.  It  is  not  true,  never 
has  been  and  never  can  be,  for  the  difference  between 
them  is  not  only  political  and  territorial  but  it  is  semi- 
racial.  For,  although  the  inheritors  of  the  Sceptre 
and  the  Birthright  were  sons  of  the  same  father,  they 
were  not  sons  of  the  same  mother,  and  thus  they  were 
only  half  brothers.  This,  together  with  the  fact  that 
Leah  is  described  as  “tender-eyed"  and  Rachel  was  said 
to  be  “fair,"  would  make  some  strong  facial  and  physi¬ 
cal  distinctions  in  the  posterity  of  the  two  families.  But 
when  we  remember  that  Joseph  married  an  Egyptian 
princess,  thus  blending  the  best  Semitic  blood  with 
the  royal  blood  of  Egypt,  and  making  the  posterity  of 
Joseph  half-blood  Egyptian,  then  we  must  know  that 


All  Israelites  are  not  Jews 


75 


while  the  children  of  Joseph  are  half  Israelitish  they 
are  still  three-fourths  removed  from  the  children  of 
Judah.  This  alone  would  make  great  changes  in  their 
physique  and  largely  eradicate  all  facial  resemblances. 

The  fact  that  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  the  sons  of 
Joseph,  who  were  the  final  inheritors  of  the  Birthright, 
were  half-blood  Egyptians  is  that  which  made  it  neces¬ 
sary  for  Jacob  to  adopt  them  and  make  them  fully  his 
own,  as  Reuben  and  Simeon  were  his,  before  he  could 
confer  upon  them  the  covenant  Birthright.  This  is 
the  adoption  to  which  the  Apostle  Paul  refers  in  his 
argument  concerning  the  Children  of  the  Promise  ver¬ 
sus  the  Children  of  the  Flesh,  as  follows :  “Israelites, 
to  whom  pertaineth  the  adoption ,  and  the  covenants, 
and  the  glory,  and  the  giving  of  the  law,  and  the  serv¬ 
ice,  and  the  promises ;  whose  are  the  fathers,  and  of 
whom  as  concerning  the  flesh  Christ  came/’  Here  Isra¬ 
elites  as  a  whole,  including  both  houses,  are  spoken  of. 
Hence,  to  all  who  really  believe,  claim,  or  teach  that 
the  Jews  only  are  Israelites,  and  of  all  who  believe 
that  the  word  adoption,  as  used  in  this  connection,  can 
possibly  have  reference  in  any  way  to  spiritual  adop¬ 
tion  we  ask:  When,  how,  or  where  did  there  ever 
occur  an  adoption,  either  spiritual  or  racial,  among  the 
Jews  as  a  nation? 

No  answer  required.  Please  reflect. 

An  eminent  theological  professor,  who  gives  an 
exegesis  of  the  Sunday-school  lessons  for  the  most 
prominent  denominational  papers  in  this  country,  began 
his  exposition  on  “The  Call  of  Abraham”  as  follows : 
“We  come  now  to  the  third  of  the  great  landmarks 
of  history,  the  call  of  Abraham.  From  being  a  uni- 


/6  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

versal  history  the  record  becomes  national.  Hereafter, 
we  have  to  do  with  one  people ,  the  Jews .  In  the 
founder  of  the  Jewish  nation  we  find  not  a  conqueror 
or  a  lawgiver  but  a  saint.”  Yet  it  is  fact  that  the 
term  ‘‘Jews”  is  not  used  in  writing  the  history  of  the 
Abrahamic  people  until  twelve  hundred  years  after  the 
call  of  Abraham. 

Another  theological  professor,  of  one  of  our  largest 
training  schools,  defines  “The  Jews”  as  “A  name  given 
to  all  the  descendants  of  Abraham.”  Ah!!!  We 
ask — When  ? 

Still  another  defines  “The  Jews” :  “A  name  given  to 
the  descendants  of  Abraham,  who  were  divided  into 
twelve  tribes”;  and  yet  it  is  a  fact  that  in  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  the  name  “Jews”  was  given  only  to  those  who 
dwelt  in  Jewry,  which  country  was  occupied  by  the 
tribes  of  Judah,  Benjamin  and  Levi,  and  did  not 
include  Samaria,  the  home  of  the  ten-tribed  kingdom. 

No ;  it  is  a  fiction  which  has  been  foisted  upon  us  by 
modern  scholars,  many  of  whom  are  presidents  and 
professors  of  universities,  colleges  and  theological  sem¬ 
inaries,  editors  of  religious  and  secular  newspapers, 
doctors  of  divinity  and  church  dignitaries,  that  the 
words  “Jew”  and  “Jews”  are  equivalent  to  “Israel,” 
“Israelites,”  “Israelitish,”  “Hebrew”  and  “Hebraic.” 

By  not  distinguishing  Israel  from  Judah  we  have  in 
the  Bible  a  historical  and  prophetic  chain  which  can 
never  be  linked  together,  and  which  sets  all  of  the  ‘ 
writers  at  variance  with  one  another;  for  we  cause 
Isaiah  to  question  statements  made  by  Jeremiah;  set 
Joel,  Amos,  and  Zephaniah  against  Zachariah ;  cause 
Jeremiah  to  convict  Hosea  of  being  a  false  prophet; 


77 


All  Israelites  are  not  Jews 

then  make  Ezekiel  step  in  and  contradict  them  both 
and  many  others  in  such  a  manner  that  one  prophet  is 
made  to  give  the  lie  to  the  other. 

We  feel  sorry  for  the  so-called  “Higher  Critics,” 
for  they  really  do  find  trouble,  but  they  cannot  conceive 
that  this  trouble  could,  by  any  possible  chance,  arise 
because  of  their  misconception  of  the  subject  matter; 
hence  it  must  be  in  the  style  [stylus — a  pen]  or  man¬ 
ner  of  the  prophet.  Thus  if  any  of  the  prophets  chance 
to  reveal  a  mannerism  at  one  time  which  is  not  so 
plainly  manifest  at  another,  then  the  exclamations, “Ah ! 
Eureka!  We’ve  found  it!  There  are  two  of  them!" 
are  heard  to  vibrate  and  revibrate  throughout  the  ec¬ 
clesiastical  world. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  skepticism  is  rampant,  both  in 
the  church  and  out  of  it,  since  the  common  error  of 
Christendom  is  to  regard  the  Jews  as  the  whole  house 
of  Israel?  Is  it  any  wonder  that  Tom  Paine  lost  his 
soul  while  following  the  beaten  path  of  this  fallacy? 
For  he  did  give  the  Bible  up  as  a  myth,  and  boldly 
states  in  his  writings  that  he  was  led  into  infidelity 
because  he  saw  that  the  Jews  did  not  and  never  could 
verify  the  promises  concerning  Israel. 

For  it  is  true  that  God  had  declared,  through  Micah, 
of  Israel,  who  was  divorced  and  cast  far  off,  that  he 
would  (at  the  proper  time)  make  her  a  strong  nation; 
while  Judah  was  to  become  a  remnant.  Isaiah,  Hosea, 
Jeremiah  and  the  New  Testament  declare  Israel  to  be 
lost ;  while  both  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  affirm  that  Judah 
is  well  known.  Hosea  declares  Israel  to  be  as  “the 
sands  for  multitude”;  while  Jeremiah  insists  that 
Judah  is  “few  in  number’’  and  a  remnant.  Isaiah, 


78  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

David,  Micah,  Jeremiah  and  others  declare  that  Israel 
is  the  strongest  war  power  on  earth,  never  to  be  con¬ 
quered  by  a  Gentile  power;  and  yet  Jeremiah  declares 
that  Judah  is  “without  might;”  while  Daniel  bemoans 
and  records  the  fact  that  the  Jews  will  be  conquered 
by  a  Gentile  power.  The  entire  line  of  prophets  from 
Moses  down  declare  Israel  to  be  a  continuous  mon¬ 
archy,  whose  sceptre  is  held  by  the  seed  of  David ;  while 
Judah  is  to  be  “without  government”  of  their  own, 
but  are  to  be  ruled  over.  Hosea  declares  that  “Israel 
shall  ride”  but  “Judah  shall  plow.” 

Moses  also  declares  that  there  shall  come  a  time 
in  the  history  of  Israel  (the  ten  tribes)  when  they  also 
shall  “be  few  in  number,”  and  yet  it  is  prophesied  con¬ 
cerning  them  that  they  shall  obtain  possession  of  “great 
possessions,”  inheriting  and  establishing  (peopling) 
the  desolate  places  of  the  earth,  rule  many  heathen 
nations,  have  a  great  revenue,  become  the  “mart  of 
nations,”  hold  the  keys  of  commerce,  be  “exalted 
above  their  neighbors,”  and  become  “the  chief  of 
nations.”  But,  on  the  other  hand,  Judah  is  to  be 
“without  geographical  inheritance,”  “strangers  in  all 
countries,”  “howl  for  vexation  of  spirit,”  “leave  their 
name  for  a  curse,”  “be  ashamed,”  and  “cry  for  sorrow 
of  heart”  until  the  great  day  of  Jezreel. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  BROKEN  BROTHERHOOD. 

In  the  last  chapter  we  gave  much  testimony  from  the 
Scripture  showing  that  the  ten-tribed  kingdom  is  dealt 
with,  both  in  history  and  prophecy — much  of  which 
is  yet  unfulfilled — as  the  house  of  Israel,  and  other 
titles,  some  of  which  you  will  find  quite  prominent  in 
this  chapter ;  while  the  three-tribed  kingdom,  which  is 
composed  of  the  Jewish  people,  is  dealt  with  as  the 
house  of  Judah  and  the  Jews.  If  any  of  our  readers  are 
not  yet  satisfied  on  this  point  we  promise  that  they  shall 
still  have  abundant  opportunity  to  become  thoroughly 
convinced.  Prof.  C.  A.  L.  Totten,  of  Yale  University, 
says :  “I  can  never  be  too  thankful  to  the  Almighty 
that  in  my  youth  he  used  the  late  Professor  Wilson 
to  show  me  the  difference  between  the  two  houses.  The 
very  understanding  of  this  difference  is  the  KEY  by 
which  almost  the  entire  Bible  becomes  intelligible,  and 
I  cannot  state  too  strongly  that  the  man  who  has  not 
yet  seen  that  Israel  of  the  Scripture  is  totally  distinct 
from  the  Jewish  people,  is  yet  in  the  very  infancy,  the 
mere  alphabet,  of  Biblical  study,  and  that  to  this  day 
the  meaning  of  seven-eighths  of  the  Bible  is  shut 
to  his  understanding.”/  This  will  become  more  and 
more  apparent  as  we  proceed  with  a  few  brief  out¬ 
lines  of  the  histories  of  these  two  kingdoms. 

Israel  displeased  the  Lord  by  her  idolatry,  but  it  is 
quite  evident  that,  for  some  time  after  the  division, 


79 


80  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Judah  pleased  him  by  her  faithfulness ;  and  it  is  also 
evident  that,  for  a  short  period,  fraternal  relations 
existed  between  the  two  kingdoms.  These  evidences 
are  found  in  the  history  of  the  war  which  occurred  be¬ 
tween  Israel  and  Moab  in  the  days  of  Jehoram,  the 
son  of  Ahab,  king  of  Israel,  and  of  Jehoshaphat,  king 

of  Judah. 

During  the  reign  of  Ahab  he  had  conquered  IVloab, 
and  the  king  of  Moab  paid  him  a  revenue  of  one  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  lambs  and  one  hundred  thousand  rams, 
with  the  wool.  But  upon  the  ascension  of  Ahab’s  son 
to  the  throne  of  Israel  the  king  of  Moab  rebelled 
against  him ;  and  so  it  is  recorded  that  King  Jehoram 
went  out  of  Samaria  at  that  same  time,  and  num¬ 
bered  all  Israel.”  2  Kings  3 :  6. 

Here  the  expression  “all  Israel”  has  reference  to  all 
the  region  of  country  which  was  occupied  by  the  ten 
tribes  of  which  the  kingdom  of  Israel  was  composed. 
Samaria  was  their  capital  city  and  the  dwelling  place 
of  the  king;  but  when  the  king  of  Moab  rebelled 
against  him  it  was  but  natural,  and  also  good  general¬ 
ship,  that  he  should  want  to  know  the  fighting  strength 
of  the  kingdom.  So  he  made  a  tour  throughout  the 
realm  that  he  might  know  just  how  many  fighting 
men  he  had.  But  it  seems  that  he  returned  fully  sat¬ 
isfied  that  he  did  not  have  an  army  of  sufficient  strength 
to  insure  victory,  for  he  sent  a  message  to  the  king 
of  Judah,  saying: 

“The  king  of  Moab  hath  rebelled  against  me.  Wilt 
thou  go  with  me  against  Moab  to  battle?”  To  this 
the  king  of  Judah  replied  in  the  affirmative,  saying; 


The  Broken  Brotherhood  81 

“I  will  go  up :  I  am  as  thou  art,  and  my  people  as  thy 
people/ ’ 

As  a  matter  of  course  he  could  say,  “My  people  are 
as  thy  people, ”  for  the  people  were  brethren  and  sub¬ 
jects  of  brother  nations,  all  being  seed  of  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  the  Children  of  the  Promise.  These 
two  kings  further  decided,  while  holding  a  council 
of  war,  to  go  up  by  the  way  of  the  wilderness  of 
Edom,  and  to  ask  the  king  of  Edom  to  join  with  them 
against  the  Moabites.  For  the  Edomites  were  also 
kinfolks  of  these  two  nations,  they  being  the  descend¬ 
ants  of  Esau,  the  brother  of  Jacob,  whose  name  was 
changed  to  Edom  after  he  sold  his  birthright. 

The  king  of  Edom  consented  to  go  with  them,  and 
thus  the  Children  of  the  Flesh  and  the  Children  of  the 
Promise  made  common  cause,  and  went  up  together 
against  the  king  of  Moab.  But  when  they  had  made 
a  seven-days’  journey  they  got  into  trouble,  for  there 
was  no  water  for  that  great  army  of  men  and  the 
beasts  of  burden  which  they  were  compelled  to  have 
with  them. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  chapter  which  contains  the 
history  of  this  war  concerning  the  king  of  Israel,  we 
have  the  following:  “Now  Jehoram,  the  son  of  Ahab, 
began  to  reign  over  Israel  in  Samaria  in  the  eighteenth 
year  of  Jehoshaphat,  king  of  Judah,  and  he  reigned 
twelve  years.  And  wrought  evil  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  but  not  like  his  father  and  his  mother;  for  he 
put  away  the  image  of  Baal  that  his  father  had  made. 
Nevertheless  he  cleaved  unto  the  sins  of  Jeroboam, 
the  son  of  Nebat,  which  made  Israel  to  sin ;  he  departed 
not  therefrom.” 


82  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

But  as  soon  as  they  were  in  trouble  and  the  idol¬ 
atrous  king  of  Israel  found  there  was  no  water,  then 
in  startled  fear  he  cried  out,  saying :  “The  Lord  hath 
brought  us  three  kings  out  here  to  destroy  us.” 

How  quickly,  when  tortured  with  guilty  fear,  the 
idolater  knew  there  was  a  Lord  who  had  power  to 
destroy  them,  or  at  least  to  destroy  him,  for  he  knew 
that  he  deserved  it,  and  only  said  “us  three”  because 
of  a  spirit  of  guilty  cowardice  which  hoped  to  shift 
the  responsibility,  or,  if  failing  in  that,  to  insist  that 
others  were  fully  as  much  to  blame  as  he — which 
is  so  often  seen  in  frightened  but  impenitent  men. 
But  it  was  not  so  with  Jehoshaphat,  the  God-fearing 
king  of  Judah,  for  he  at  once  asked:  “Is  there  not 
here  a  prophet  of  the  Lord  that  we  may  inquire  of  the 
Lord  by  him?” 

No  doubt,  the  thought  of  Jehoshaphat  in  asking  this 
question  was  that  by  making  inquiry  of  the  Lord  they 
would  receive  such  Divine  instruction  as  would  en¬ 
able  them  to  escape  the  threatened  danger;  for  when 
one  of  the  servants  of  the  king  of  Israel,  upon  hear¬ 
ing  this  inquiry,  stepped  forward  and  informed  them 
that  Elisha  the  prophet  was  with  the  company  the 
king  of  Judah  rejoiced  and  said:  “The  word  of  the 
Lord  is  with  him.” 

When  Elisha  was  found  and  these  three  kings  were 
ushered  into  his  presence  he  addressed  himself  to  the 
king  of  Israel,  saying:  “What  have  I  to  do  with  thee? 
Get  thee  to  the  prophets  of  thy  father  and  to  the 
prophets  of  thy  mother.”  But  to  this  the  king,  still 
fearful,  vouchsafed  only  the  reply,  “Nay:  for  the  Lord 


The  Broken  Brotherhood  83 

hath  called  these  three  kings  together,  to  deliver  them 
into  the  hand  of  Moab.” 

Then  Elisha  said:  “As  the  Lord  of  Hosts  liveth, 
before  whom  I  stand,  surely,  were  it  not  that  I  regard 
the  presence  of  Jehoshaphat,  the  king  of  Judah,  I 
would  not  look  toward  thee,  nor  see  thee.” 

There  are  reasons  given,  and  they  are  weighty  ones, 
why  the  prophet  of  God  should  regard  the  king  of 
Judah  and  emphasize  the  fact  of  his  presence,  in  con¬ 
trast  to  the  king  of  Israel;  for,  through  the  prophet 
Hosea  the  Lord  declares:  “Ephraim  compasseth  me 
about  with  lies,  and  the  house  of  Israel  with  deceit: 
but  Judah  yet  ruleth  with  God,  and  is  faithful  with 
the  saints.” 

Ah,  yes;  Judah  is  not  only  faithful  among  the 
saints,  but  she  yet  has  power  and  ruling  influence  with 
God.  Here  are  reasons,  abundant,  for  that  honorable 
distinction  which  was  conferred  upon  Judah  and  her 
God-honoring  king.  It  was  because  of  them  that  the 
Lord  sent  water  to  that  famishing  army  and  gave 
them  victory  over  the  Moabites.  But  Israel  and  her 
king,  although  serving  Jeroboam's  calves,  yet,  in 
a  time  of  trouble,  when  moved  by  guilty  fear,  admitted 
the  power  of  the  God  of  their  fathers.  Hence  “lies  and 
deceit”  were  in  Ephraim-Israel,  but  faithfulness — as 
yet — among  the  Jewish  people. 

But  there  came  a  time  when  Judah  was  not  among 
the  faithful,  and  when  she  lost  her  power  with  God ; 
and  there  also  came  a  time  when  the  fraternal  rela¬ 
tions  were  broken  between  these  brother  nations. 

There  are  many  instances  of  the  severance  of  broth¬ 
erly  harmony  between  these  nations,  but  the  following 


84  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

instance,  which  occurred  in  the  days  of  Amaziah,  king 
of  Judah,  and  Joash,  king  of  Israel,  not  only  reveals 
the  broken  ties  but  justifies  the  term  Ephraim-Israel. 

“Moreover,  Amaziah  gathered  Judah  together  and 
made  them  captains  over  thousands  and  over  hundreds, 
according  to  the  houses  of  their  fathers  through  all 
Judah  and  Benjamin  (the  Levites  were  priests,  not 
warriors),  and  he  numbered  them  from  twenty  years 
old  and  above,  and  found  them  three  hundred  thousand 
choice  men,  able  to  go  forth  to  war,  that  could  handle 
spear  and  shield.  He  hired  an  hundred  thousand 
mighty  men  of  valour  out  of  Israel,  for  a  hundred 
talents  of  silver.  But  there  came  a  man  of  God  to  him, 
saying,  ‘O  king,  let  not  the  army  of  Israel  go  with 
thee,  for  the  Lord  is  not  with  Israel,  to  wit,  all  the 
children  of  Ephraim.  But  if  thou  wilt  go  and  do  it, 
to  be  strong  for  the  battle,  God  shall  make  thee  fall 
before  the  enemy;  for  God  hath  power  to  help  and 
to  cast  down/ 

“And  Amaziah  said  unto  the  man  of  God,  But  what 
shall  we  do  with  the  hundred  talents  which  I  have 
given  to  the  army  of  Israel?  And  the  man  of  God  an¬ 
swered,  The  Lord  is  able  to  give  thee  much  more  than 
this.  Then  Amaziah  separated  them,  to  wit,  the  army 
that  was  come  to  him  out  of  Ephraim,  to  go  home 
again :  wherefore  their  anger  was  greatly  kindled 
against  Judah,  and  they  returned  home  in  great  anger. 
And  *  *  *  the  soldiers  of  the  army  which 
Amaziah  sent  back,  that  they  should  not  go  with  him 
to  battle,  fell  upon  the  cities  of  Judah,  from  Samaria 
even  to  Beth-horon,  and  smote  three  thousand  of  them, 
and  took  much  spoil/’ 


The  Broken  Brotherhood 


85 


Thus  we  see  that  the  terms  Israel  and  Ephraim  are 
used  interchangeably,  for  at  one  time  we  read  “the 
army  out  of  Israel,”  and  at  another,  but  concerning 
the  same  transaction,  “the  army  that  is  come  out  of 
Ephraim.”  Also  the  man  of  God  told  the  king  of  the 
Jews  that,  if  he  went  into  battle  with  the  hundred 
thousand  men  that  he  had  hired  out  of  Israel,  the  Lord 
would  defeat  him,  for  God  was  not  with  Israel,  to  wit, 
Ephraim.  And  further,  when  the  king  of  Judah  sent 
the  soldiers  back  home  he  sent  them  from  the  nation 
which  the  sacred  history  calls  “the  Jews”  to  that 
which  is  called  “Israel.” 

There  is  one  other  point  which  must  not  be  over¬ 
looked  at  this  juncture;  that  is,  that  Ephraim  is  the 
representative  of  the  house  of  Joseph ;  that  Joseph 
represents  the  Birthright  blessing,  which  carries  with 
it  the  promise  of  a  multitude  of  children,  which  was 
originally  given  to  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  and 
that  it  sometimes  occurs  that  the  name  of  Joseph,  the 
father,  instead  of  Ephraim,  the  son,  is  used  when 
recording  facts  of  history  or  prophecy  concerning  the 
ten-tribed  kingdom.  This  does  not  often  occur,  but 
the  following  is  an  instance : 

“And  I  will  strengthen  the  house  of  Judah,  and  I 
will  save  the  house  of  Joseph,  and  I  will  bring  them 
again  to  place  them  ;  for  I  have  mercy  upon  them :  and 
they  shall  be  as  though  I  had  not  cast  them  off :  for  I 
am  the  Lord  their  God,  and  will  hear  them.  And 
Ephraim  shall  be  like  a  mighty  man,  and  their  heart 
shall  rejoice  as  through  wine.”  Zech.  10:6,  8. 

This  text  clearly  shows  that  the  names  of  Ephraim 
and  Joseph  are  titles  of  the  ten-tribed  kingdom,  in  con- 


86  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

tradistinction  from  Judah  and  the  Jews  as  titles  of 
the  three-tribed  kingdom.  And,  since  it  is  true  that 
Judah  and  Joseph  are  the  inheritors  of  the  two  special 
promises  which  pertain  to  the  two  covenants,  we  need 
not  be  surprised  at  this,  but  should  rather  expect  that 
these  two  names  would  stand  thus  contrasted.  But  all 
the  more  should  we  expect  this,  when  we  see  the 
fact  so  clearly  revealed  in  the  history  of  the  posterity 
of  these  two  men  that  the  Birthright  name  and  people 
are  representatives  of  one  nation,  and  that  Judah's 
sceptre  is  swaying  over  the  other. 

But  these  facts  are  still  more  clearly  brought  out  in 
one  of  Ezekiel’s  prophecies,  as  follows:  “Moreover, 
thou  son  of  man,  take  thee  one  stick  and  write  upon 
it,  for  Judah,  and  for  the  children  of  Israel  his  com¬ 
panions  :  then  take  another  stick,  and  write  upon  it 
for  Joseph,  the  stick  of  Ephraim,  and  for  all  the 
house  of  Israel,  his  companions.  And  join  them  one 
to  another  into  one  stick,  and  they  shall  become  one 
in  thine  hand.  And  when  the  children  of  thy  people 
shall  speak  unto  thee,  saying,  Wilt  thou  not  shew  us 
what  thou  meanest  by  these?  say  unto  them,  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  God:  Behold,  I  will  take  the  stick  of 
Joseph,  which  is  in  the  hand  of  Ephraim,  and  the  tribes 
of  Israel  his  fellows,  and  will  put  them  with  him,  even 
with  the  stick  of  Judah  and  make  them  one  in  my  hand. 
And  the  sticks  wherein  thou  writest  shall  be  in  thy  hand 
before  their  eyes.  And  say  unto  them,  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  God :  Behold  I  will  take  the  children  of  Israel 
from  among  the  heathen,  whither  they  be  gone,  and 
will  gather  them  on  every  side  and  bring  them  into 
their  own  land.  And  I  will  make  them  one  nation 


The  Broken  Brotherhood 


87 


in  the  land  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel;  and 
one  king  shall  be  king  to  them  all,  and  they 
shall  be  no  more  two  nations,  neither  shall  they 
be  divided  into  two  kingdoms  any  more  at  all.  Neither 
shall  they  defile  themselves  any  more  with  their  idols, 
nor  with  their  detestable  things,  nor  with  any  of  their 
transgressions:  but  I  will  save  them  out  of  all  their 
dwelling-places,  wherein  they  have  sinned,  and  will 
cleanse  them :  so  shall  they  be  my  people,  and  I  will  be 
their  God/— Ezekiel,  37  115-23. 

Many  things  will  need  to  be  explained  before  we 
can  show  the  relative  place  in  the  history  of  these  peo¬ 
ple  of  all  the  facts  herein  mentioned.  But  this  much 
is  clear : 

( 1 )  That  there  are  two  sticks,  two  nations,  or 
kingdoms. 

(2)  That  Judah,  who  inherited  the  sceptre  and 
crown,  has  one  of  those  sticks,  kingdoms,  or  nations ; 
while  Joseph-Ephraim  has  the  other. 

(3)  That  Judah  has  with  him  as  companions  some 
of  “the  children  of  Israel,”  and  that  Ephraim  has  some 
of  “the  tribes  of  Israel,”  who  are  his  fellows ;  and  his 
companions. 

(4)  That  when  this  prophecy  was  written  they  were 
divided ;  and  that  all  the  people  belonging  to  the  race 
had  gathered,  either  to  Judah  or  Joseph,  or  in  other 
words,  either  to  the  Sceptre  or  to  the  Birthright. 

(5)  That  at  some  future  time  they  are  again  to  be 
united,  become  one  kingdom,  and  then  remain  so  for¬ 
ever. 

(6)  That  when  they  are  thus  united,  one  king  shall 
be  king  over  them  all,  and  when  this  takes  place  the  peo- 


88  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

pie  will  have  been  so  lifted  up  by  Divine  power  and  so 
enriched  by  grace  that  they  will  no  more  defile  them¬ 
selves,  commit  no  transgressions,  or  in  any  way  dis¬ 
please  the  Lord,  but  shall  be  his  accepted  people,  and 
he  shall  be  their  God. 

Evidently  one  of  these  sticks  is  the  Sceptre  and  the 
other  the  Birthright ;  for  these  and  the  promises  con¬ 
nected  with  each  are  of  general  interest  to  all  the 
children  of  promise,  but  they  are  the  exclusive  prop¬ 
erty  of  the  two  men,  Judah  and  Joseph,  who  are  the 
special  subjects  of  the  prophecy,  while  the  entire  pos¬ 
terity  of  Jacob  is  the  general  subject.  But  this  figure 
of  the  two  sticks,  or  staffs,  is  used  in  another  proph¬ 
ecy,  which  pertains  to  the  two  houses  and  which 
should  be  of  profound  interest  to  all. 

Beginning  in  the  midst  of  the  seventh  verse  of  the 
eleventh  chapter  of  Zachariah,  we  have  the  following: 
“I  took  unto  me  two  staves;  the  one  I  called  Beauty, 
and  the  other  I  called  Bands.  *  *  *  And  I 
took  my  staff,  even  Beauty,  and  cut  it  asunder,  that  I 
might  break  my  covenant  which  I  had  made  with  all 
the  people.  And  it  was  broken  in  that  day:  and  so 
the  poor  of  the  flock  that  waited  upon  me  knew  that 
it  was  the  Word  of  the  Lord.  And  I  said  unto  them, 
If  ye  think  good,  give  me  my  price;  and  if  not,  for¬ 
bear.  So  they  weighed  for  my  price  thirty  pieces  of 
silver. 

“And  the  Lord  said  unto  me,  Cast  it  to  the  potter: 
a  goodly  price  that  I  was  priced  at  of  them.  And  I 
took  thirty  pieces  of  silver  and  cast  them  to  the  potter 
in  the  house  of  the  Lord.  Then  I  cut  asunder  mine 


The  Broken  Brotherhood  89 

other  staff,  even  Bands,  that  I  might  break  the  brother¬ 
hood  between  Israel  and  Judah.”  Zech.  11 :  7-14. 

So  Israel  and  Judah  are  the  two  sticks  or  staves 
which  the  Lord  took  unto  himself.  He  first  cut 
asunder  one  stick  or  staff  called  Beauty,  i.  e.,  ten-tribed 
Israel.  Then,  after  a  certain  transaction  in  which 
their  Lord  was  sold  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  he  cut 
asunder  his  other  staff,  called  Bands  (i.  e.,  Judah,  the 
Jews),  that  he  might  break  the  brotherhood  between 
Judah  and  Israel! 

Just  what  a  great  and  marvelously  fulfilled  truth  is 
herein  declared  we  are  not  yet  prepared  to  explain. 
At  this  juncture  we  can  only  call  your  attention  to  the 
fact  that  Ezekiel’s  prophecy  concerning  the  putting 
together  of  the  two  sticks  could  not  have  been  fulfilled 
until  after  the  transaction  which  concerns  the  thirty 
pieces  of  silver ;  and  that  when  it  does  take  place  it  must 
be  in  harmony  not  only  with  those  blessed  results, 
which  we  have  already  mentioned,  but  also  with  that 
which  is  contained  in  the  rest  of  that  prophecy,  a  part 
of  which  is  as  follows : 

“And  they  shall  dwell  in  the  land  that  I  have  given 
to  Jacob  my  servant,  wherein  your  fathers  have  dwelt ; 
and  they  shall  dwell  therein,  even  they,  and  their  chil¬ 
dren,  and  their  children’s  children  forever:  and  my 
servant  David  shall  be  their  prince  forever. 

“Moreover,  I  will  make  a  covenant  of  peace  with 
them ;  it  shall  be  an  everlasting  covenant  with  them : 
and  I  will  place  them  and  multiply  them,  and  will  set 
my  sanctuary  in  the  midst  of  them  for  evermore.” 

The  brotherhood  is  still  broken,  but  it  shall  be 
mended. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

EPHRAIM-SAMARIA-ISRAEI/S  IDOLATRY. 

‘‘When  I  would  have  healed  Israel,  then  the  in¬ 
iquity  of  Ephraim  was  discovered,  and  the  wickedness 
of  Samaria,  for  they  commit  falsehood.”  (Hosea  7:1.) 
Here  the  names  of  Israel,  Ephraim,  and  Samaria,  are 
used  interchangeably  for  the  one  kingdom.  It  bears 
the  name  Ephraim,  because  it  is  the  Birthright  king¬ 
dom  ;  that  of  Samaria,  because  that  was  the  name  of 
their  capital  city ;  and  the  name  of  Israel,  for  the  reason 
that  when  dying  Jacob,  whose  name  had  been  changed 
to  Israel,  in  bestowing  the  Birthright  upon  Joseph’s 
two  sons,  said :  “Let  my  name  be  named  on  them.,, 

When  the  blessing  of  Him  that  dwelt  in  the  bush 
came  upon  Joseph,  he  who  was  separated  from  his 
brethren,  it  is  declared  that  his  glory  was  the  ten 
thousands  of  Ephraim  and  the  thousands  of  Manas- 
seh.  Thus  he  received,  in  so  far  as  tribal  honor  or  glory 
is  concerned,  a  double  portion.  So,  at  the  time  of  the 
division  of  the  land  by  lot,  under  the  leadership  of 
Joshua,  we  find  the  declaration  that  “there  was  also 
a  lot  for  the  tribe  of  Manasseh,  for  he  was  the  first 
born  of  Joseph ;  but  that  “they  gave  no  part  unto  the 
Levites  in  the  land,  save  cities  to  dwell  in,”  and  the 
reason  given  for  it  is,  “For  the  children  of  Joseph  were 
two  tribes,  Manasseh  and  Ephraim.”  Josh.  14:4. 

The  fact  is  that  Jacob  adopted  the  two  sons  of  Joseph 
gave  them  tribal  headship,  and  thus  made  thirteen 


90 


Ephraim-Samaria-Israel’s  Idolatry  91 

tribes  in  Jacob.  And  since  Judah,  Benjamin,  and  Levi 
were  the  tribal  heads  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  there 
were  still  ten  tribes  for  the  Birthright  kingdom,  and 
the  I/Ord’s  promise  to  the  king  of  Israel  stood  fast. 

The  history  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  as  opposed  to 
that  of  the  Jews,  is  full  of  the  sin  of  Jeroboam  and  of 
her  kings  who  walked  in  this  sin.  This  sin  was,  in  a 
special  sense,  the  sin  of  that  nation.  It  pertained 
exclusively  to  them,  because  it  was  born,  bred,  lived, 
and  died  among  them  ;  for  no  other  nation  took  up  with 
it,  not  even  their  brethren  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah. 
It  was  the  standing  sin  of  the  nation;  to  them  it  ever 
stood  as  an  open  door  through  which  other  forms 
of  idolatry  might  enter,  and  through  which  they  did 
enter.  For,  although  it  is  said  of  Omri,  the  sixth 
king  of  Israel,  that  he  wrought  evil  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord  in  following  the  sin  of  Jeroboam,  and  also  that 
he  did  worse  than  all  that  were  before  him,  the  Lord 
is  compelled  to  say  of  Ahab,  the  son  of  Omri,  that 
he  did  worse  than  his  father;  for  it  was  he  who  in¬ 
troduced  the  worship  of  Baal  among  the  Israelites. 
Following  the  introduction  of  Baalism,  other  idolatries 
were  quickly  introduced  among  them,  and  soon  the 
cup  of  Israel’s  iniquity  was  full  to  the  brim ;  the  result 
of  which  was  that  she  was  cast  out  of  the  land. 

Israel  was  not  only  cast  out  of  that  land,  their  God- 
given  heritage  and  which — if  God  be  true — must  yet 
become  their  everlasting  home;  but  she  was  cast  off 
by  the  Lord  and  divorced  from  him,  because  of  her 
harlotry  in  forsaking  him,  her  lawful  husband,  for 
the  worship  of  idols. 


9 2  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 


Before  giving  the  details  of  the  casting  out  and  the 
casting  of?,  we  deem  it  advisable  to  give  a  complete 
list  of  Israel’s  dynasties,  together  with  a  list  of  all 
the  kings  wdio  reigned  over  Israel  from  the  time  when 
the  kingdom  was  taken  from  Solomon  and  given  to 
Jeroboam,  his  servant,  until  they  were  finally  driven 
out  of  the  land,  and  also  to  give  what  the  Scripture 
saith  concerning  the  idolatry  of  each  of  these  her  kings. 

So  we  place,  in  parallel  columns,  below,  the  name 
and  number  of  the  king,  the  number  of  the  dynasty, 
and  the  length  of  time  which  each  of  the  kings  reigned, 
in  one  column ;  and  what  is  said  concerning  his  idolatry 
in  the  other. 


I.  DYNASTY. 


ist  King,  Jero¬ 
boam. 

Feigned  22  years. 


Idolatry . 

“And  Jeroboam  said  in  his  heart, 
Now  shall  the  kingdom  return  to  the 
house  of  David :  if  this  people  go  up 
to  do  sacrifice  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord  at  Jerusalem,  then  shall  the 
heart  of  this  people  turn  again  unto 
their  lord,  even  unto  Rehoboam, 
king  of  Judah,  and  they  shall  kill 
me,  and  go  again  to  Rehoboam,  king 
of  Judah,  whereupon  the  king  took 
counsel,  and  made  two  calves  of 
gold,  and  said  unto  them,  It  is  too 
much  for  you  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem : 
behold  thy  gods,  O  Israel,  which 
brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt.  And  he  set  the  one  in  Beth¬ 
el,  and  the  other  he  put  in  Dan.  And 


Ephraim-Samaria-Israel’s  Idolatry 


2nd  King,  Nadab. 
Reigned  2  years. 


II.  DYNASTY. 

3rd  King,  Baasha. 
Reigned  24  years. 


4th  King,  Elah. 
Reigned  2  years. 


III.  DYNASTY. 


5th  King,  Zimri. 
Reigned  1  week. 


IV.  DYNASTY. 


6th  King,  Omri. 
Reigned  12  years. 


93 

this  thing  became  a  sin,  for  the  peo¬ 
ple  went  to  worship.”  (1  Ki.  12: 
26-30. ) 

“And  he  did  evil  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord,  and  walked  in  the  way  of 
his  father,  and  in  his  sin  wherewith 
he  made  Israel  to  sin.”  (1  Ki.  15: 
26.) 

“And  he  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  and  walked  in  the  way  of  Jero¬ 
boam,  and  in  his  sin  wherewith  he 
made  Israel  to  sin.”  (i  Ki.  15:34.) 

“For  all  the  sins  of  Baasha  (Jero- 
boamism),  and  the  sins  of  Elah  his 
son,  by  which  they  sinned,  and  by 
which  they  made  Israel  to  sin,  etc.” 
(1  Ki.  16:13.) 

“And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Zimri 
saw  that  the  city  was  taken,  that  he 
went  into  the  palace  of  the  king’s 
house,  and  burnt  the  king’s  house 
over  him  with  fire,  and  died,  for  his 
sins  which  he  sinned  in  doing  evil  in 
the  sight  of  the  Lord,  in  walking  in 
the  way  of  Jeroboam,  and  in  his  sin 
which  he  did  to  make  Israel  to  sin.” 

(1  Ki.  16:  18,  19.) 

“But  Omri  wrought  evil  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Lord,  and  did  worse  than 
all  that  were  before  him.  For  he 
walked  in  all  the  way  of  Jeroboam, 
the  son  of  Nebat,  and  in  his  sin 


94  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

wherewith  he  made  Israel  to  sin,  to 
provoke  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  to 
anger  with  their  vanities.”  (i  Ki.  16: 
25-26. ) 

“And  Ahab,  the  son  of  Omri,  did 
evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  above 
all  that  were  before  him.  And  it 
7th  King,  Ahab.  came  to  pass,  as  if  it  had  been  a 
Reigned  22  years.  light  thing  for  him  to  walk  in  the 

sins  of  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat, 
that  he  took  to  wife  Jezebel,  the 
daughter  of  Ethbaal,  king  of  the  Zi- 
donians,  and  went  and  served  Baal, 
and  worshiped  him.  And  he  reared 
up  an  altar  for  Baal  in  the  house  of 
Baal,  which  he  had  built  in  Samaria. 
And  Ahab  made  a  grove ;  and  Ahab 
did  more  to  provoke  the  Lord  God 
of  Israel  than  all  the  kings  of  Is¬ 
rael  that  were  before  him.”  (1  Ki. 
16:30-33.) 

“And  he  did  evil  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord,  and  walked  in  the  way  of 
his  father,  and  in  the  way  of  his 
3th  King,  Ahaziah.  mother,  and  in  the  way  of  Jeroboam, 
Reigned  2  years.  son  0£  Nebat,  who  made  Israel 

to  sin :  for  he  served  Baal,  and  wor¬ 
shiped  him,  and  provoked  to  anger 
the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  according  to 
all  that  his  father  had  done.”  (1  Ki. 
22:52,  53.) 


Ephraim-Samaria-Israel’s  Idolatry 


95 


9th  King,  Jehoram. 
Reigned  12  years. 


V.  DYNASTY. 


10th  King,  Jehu. 
Reigned  23  years. 


nth  King, 
Jehoahaz. 
Reigned  17  years. 


12th  King,  Joash. 
Reigned  10  years. 


13th  King, 
Jeroboam,  the  2d. 

(son  of  Joash). 
Reigned  41  years. 


“And  he  wrought  evil  in  the  sight 
of  the  Lord;  but  not  like  his  father, 
and  like  his  mother ;  for  he  put  away 
the  image  of  Baal  that  his  father  had 
made.  Nevertheless  he  cleaved  unto 
the  sins  of  Jeroboam,  the  son  of 
Nebat,  which  made  Israel  to  sin; 
he  departed  not  therefrom.”  (2  Ki. 

3:2,  3-) 

“Howbeit  from  the  sins  of  Jero¬ 
boam,  the  son  of  Nebat,  who  made 
Israel  to  sin,  Jehu  departed  not  from 
after  them,  to  wit,  the  golden  calves 
that  were  in  Bethel  and  that  were  in 
Dan.”  (2  Ki.  10:29.) 

“And  he  did  that  which  was  evil 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  fol¬ 
lowed  the  sins  of  Jeroboam,  the  son 
of  Nebat,  which  made  Israel  to  sin  ; 
he  departed  not  therefrom.”  (2  Ki. 
13:2.) 

“And  he  did  that  which  was  evil 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord ;  he  departed 
not  from  all  the  sins  of  Jeroboam, 
the  son  of  Nebat,  who  made  Israel  to 
sin ;  but  he  walked  therein.”  (2  Ki. 
13:11.) 

“And  he  did  that  which  was  evil 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord:  he  depart¬ 
ed  not  from  all  the  sins  of  Jeroboam, 
the  son  of  Nebat,  who  made  Israel  to 
sin.”  (2  Ki.  14:24-) 


g6  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 


‘‘And  he  did  that  which  was  evil 


14th  King, 
Zachariah. 
Reigned  6  months. 


VI.  DYNASTY. 
15th  King, 
Shallum. 


Reigned  1  month. 


imthe  sight  of  the  Lord,  as  his  father 
had  done :  he  departed  not  from  the 
sins  of  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat, 
who  made  Israel  to  sin.”  (2  Ki.  15  : 

90 


(Sins  of  Shallum  not  recorded.) 


VII.  DYNASTY. 

16th  King, 
Menahem. 
Reigned  10  years. 


“And  he  did  that  which  was  evil 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord :  he  departed 
not  all  of  his  days  from  the  sins  of 
Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat,  who 
made  Israel  to  sin.”  (2  Ki.  15:18.) 

“And  he  did  that  which  was  evil 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord :  and  he  de¬ 
parted  not  from  the  sins  of  Jero¬ 
boam,  the  son  of  Nebat,  who  made 
Israel  to  sin.”  (2  Ki.  15:24.) 

“And  he  did  that  which  was  evil 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord :  he  depart¬ 
ed  not  from  the  sins  of  Jeroboam, 
the  son  of  Nebat,  who  made  Israel  to 
sin.”  (2  Ki.  15  :28.) 

“And  he  did  that  which  was  evil 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  but  not  as 
the  kings  of  Israel  that  were  before 
him.”  (2  Ki.  17:2.) 

After  the  introduction  of  Baalism  and  other  idol¬ 
atries,  there  were  a  few  feeble  attempts  at  reforma¬ 
tion;  but  they  were  only  partial,  as  we  may  readily 


17th  King, 
Pekahiah. 

Reigned  2  years. 


VII.  DYNASTY. 

18th  King, 
Pekah. 

Reigned  20  years. 

19th  King, 
Hoshea. 

Reigned  22  years. 


Ephraim-Samaria-Israel's  Idolatry  97 

see.  Take,  for  instance,  the  case  of  Jehoram  to 
which  we  referred  in  the  last  chapter ;  how  it  is  writ¬ 
ten  that  "He  wrought  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
but  not  like  his  father  and  mother,  for  he  put  away 
the  image  of  Baal  that  his  father  had  made,  never¬ 
theless  he  cleaved  unto  the  sins  of  Jeroboam,  the  son 
of  Nebat,  which  made  Israel  to  sin.”  It  was  this 
slight  and  hypocritical  attempt  to  purify  the  worship 
of  the  people  which  so  displeased  the  Lord,  and  which 
made  Elisha  the  prophet  give  that  scathing  rebuke 
to  Jehoram  in  the  presence  of  his  kinsman  kings.  For 
if  he  knew  enough  concerning  the  Lord  God  of  his 
race  to  have  his  conscience  troubled  over  Baal,  he 
had  sufficient  light  to  have  made  a  clean  sweep  of  the 
whole  thing,  but  he  did  not  do  it.  And  the  sequel 
proves  that  he  did  not  succeed  in  destroying  Baalism 
from  among  his  people,  for  they  were  soon  back  to  it, 
and  even  went  so  far  as  to  offer  their  own  sons  and 
daughters  in  living  sacrifice  to  the  idol  of  Baal. 

It  was  to  this  kingdom,  the  people  of  which  are 
Israelites  and  not  Jews,  that  the  Lord  sent  Elijah 
the  prophet  to  make  the  fire  test  as  to  whether  he  or 
Baal  be  God.  And  when  the  Lord  answered  bv  fire, 
which  not  only  consumed  the  sacrifice  but  the  stones 
of  the  altar,  the  water  in  the  ditch,  and  the  very  dust 
under  the  altar,  it  was  these  people  who  shouted  loud 
and  long:  "The  Lord,  he  is  God!  The  Lord,  he  is 
God !”  But  they  never  forsook  Jeroboam-ism,  and 
soon  relapsed  into  the  worship  of  Baal  worse  than 
ever. 

Finally  the  Lord  raised  up  Jehu,  who  destroyed  all 
the  house  of  Ahab,  and  became  the  king  of  Israel.  He, 


g8  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 


* 


upon  his  ascension,  “gathered  the  people  together  and 
said  unto  them,  Ahab  served  Baal  a  little;  Jehu  shall 
serve  him  much.  Now  therefore  call  unto  me  all  the 
prophets  of  Baal,  all  his  priests ;  let  none  be  wanting ; 
for  I  have  a  great  sacrifice  to  do  for  Baal ;  whosoever 
shall  be  wanting  (lacking)  he  shall  not  live.  But 
Jehu  did  it  in  subtlety,  to  the  intent  that  he  might 
destroy  the  worshipers  of  Baal.”  (2  Ki.  10:  19.) 

His  ruse  worked  like  a  charm ;  they  all  came,  proph¬ 
ets,  priests  and  all  the  worshipers,  “so  that  there  was 
not  a  man  left  that  came  not,”  and  the  house  of  Baal 
was  full  from  one  end  to  the  other.  Then  he  com¬ 
manded  his  guards  to  destroy  them,  saying  that  the 
man  who  let  one  escape  should  pay  the  penalty  with 
his  own  life.  They  did  their  work  and  did  it  well. 
So  the  record  reads,  “Thus  Jehu  did  destroy  Baal  out 
of  Israel.”  But,  oh,  note  the  very  next  words:  “How- 
beit,  from  the  sins  of  Jeroboam,  the  son  of  Nebat, 
who  made  Israel  to  sin,  Jehu  departed  not  from  them, 
to  wit,  the  golden  calves  that  were  in  Bethel  and  that 
were  in  Dan.”  (2  Kings,  10:29.) 

It  was  in  regard  to  Israel,  this  same  ten-tribed 
kingdom,  that  the  Lord,  through  the  prophet  Hosea, 
said,  “Israel  slideth  back  as  a  backsliding  heifer,”  and 
of  whom  he  said,  “I  will  heal  their  backslidings,  I  will 
love  them  freely”;  and  whom  he  exhorted,  saying: 
“O  Israel,  return  unto  the  Lord  thy  God !”  But  they 
would  not.  And  yet  at  that  same  time  the  Lord  de¬ 
clared  that  the  Jews  did  have  power  with  him,  and  that 
they  were  among  the  faithful  saints. 

In  the  face  of  all  these  facts  can  there  be  any  further 
question  as  to  the  real  meaning  of  the  expression, 


Ephraim-Samaria-Israel’s  Idolatry  99 

“Ephraim  is  joined  to  his  idols’’ — Jeroboam’s  calves? 
Or  need  we  be  surprised,  in  the  fact  of  these  cold, 
hard  facts,  that  the  Lord  should  say,  “Let  him  alone  ?” 

No,  surely  no.  The  only  surprise  is  that  we  should 
have  been  so  stupid  as  to  have  tried  to  spiritualize 
Ephraim  and  his  idols. 

Since  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  Jews  also 
went  into  the  worship  of  Baal,  and  that  for  this  they 
were  eventually  carried  away  to  Babylon,  we  deem  it 
advisable  that  all  may  the  more  readily  grasp  other 
facts  with  which  we  shall  yet  deal,  to  give  at  this 
juncture  a  tabulated  list  of  Judah’s  kings  from  the 
time  God  broke  up  the  united  kingdom, — for  you  will 
remember  that  he  said,  “This  is  of  me” — until  the 


Jewish  people  went  into  the  Babylonish  captivity. 

KINGDOM  OF  JUDAH. 
(Dynasty  a  continuation  of  David’s  house.) 


1st 

King . 

.Reigned 

1 7 

years 

2nd 

(( 

u 

3 

tt 

3rd 

(( 

a 

4i 

tt 

4th 

a 

tt 

25 

a 

5th 

<t 

tt 

8 

tt 

6th 

a 

a 

1 

tt 

7th 

ft 

tt 

• 

6 

n 

8th 

ft 

tt 

40 

u 

9th 

tt 

tt 

29 

tt 

1  oth 

tt 

tt 

• 

52 

tt 

nth 

tt 

tt 

16 

tt 

12th 

1 t 

tt 

16 

tt 

13th 

n 

tt 

29 

u 

14th 

tt 

tt 

55 

a 

15  th 

<( 

n 

2 

tt 

1 6th 

tt 

a 

3i 

a 

17th 

ii 

tt 

3 

mos. 

1 8th 

a 

it 

11 

years 

19th 

a 

tt 

mnQ 

20th 

1 1 

tt 

j 

II 

years 

ioo  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

In  this  list  we  perceive  that  the  same  dynasty,  which 
commenced  when  David  was  made  king  over  the 
united  tribes,  continues  throughout  this  entire  list 
down  to  and  including  Zedekiah ;  while,  in  the  pre¬ 
viously  given  list  of  Israel's  kings,  you  notice,  there 
are  no  less  than  eight  dynasties.  The  reason  is  ob¬ 
vious.  Judah's  kings  are  the  God-given  royal  line, 
along  which  the  swaying  sceptre  passed  from  father 
to  son.  For  the  Lord  had  promised  this  family  that 
neither  the  sceptre  nor  a  law-giver  should  depart  from 
them  until  Shiloh  should  come.  But  such  was  not 
the  case  in  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  hence  feudalism 
prevailed  among  them. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


SAM  ARIA- ISRAEL  CAST  OUT  AND  CAST  OFF. 

Concerning  the  casting  out  of  Israel,  it  is  written: 
“And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  fourth  year  of  King  Heze- 
kiah  (the  king  of  Judah)  which  was  the  seventh  year 
of  Hosea,  son  of  Elah,  king  of  Israel,  that  Shalmane¬ 
ser,  king  of  Assyria,  came  up  against  Samaria  and 
besieged  it,  and  at  the  end  of  three  years  they  took 
it  ;  even  in  the  sixth  year  of  Hezekiah,  that  is,  the 
ninth  year  of  Hosea,  king  of  Israel,  Samaria  was 
taken.  And  the  king  of  Assyria  did  carry  away  Israel 
unto  Assyria,  and  put  them  in  Halah,  and  in  Habor 
by  the  river  of  Gozan  and  in  the  cities  of  the  Medes. 
Because  they  obeyed  not  the  voice  of  the  Lord  their 
God,  but  transgressed  his  covenant,  and  all  that 
Moses,  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  commanded,  and  would 
not  hear  them,  nor  do  them.”  (2  Kings,  18:9-12.) 
“For  the  children  of  Israel  walked  in  all  the  sins  of 
Jeroboam  which  he  did,  they  departed  not  from  them; 
until  the  Lord  removed  Israel  out  of  his  sight  (liter¬ 
ally  his  fore-front  regard,  or  fore-front  favor ;  such  as 
is  expressed  in  other  places  by  the  use  of  the  words 
face  and  countenance),  as  he  had  said  by  all  his  ser¬ 
vants  the  prophets.  So  was  Israel  carried  away  out 
of  their  own  land  to  Assyria  unto  this  day.  And  the 
king  of  Assyria  brought  men  from  Babylon,  and  from 
Cuthah,  and  from  Ava,  and  from  Hamath,  and  from 
Sepharvaim,  and  placed  them  in  the  cities  of  Samaria 


102  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

instead  of  the  children  of  Israel :  and  they  possessed 
Samaria,  and  dwelt  in  the  cities  thereof.” — (2  Kings 
17:23-24.) 

If,  as  it  is  herein  affirmed,  the  king  of  Assyria  did 
take  this  ten-tribed  kingdom  out  of  their  own  land, 
which  land  is  called  Samaria,  and  then  place  another 
people  there  instead  of  the  children  of  Israel,  then 
Samaria  is  the  lawful  home  of  those  pre-Samaritans, 
THE  EGYPTO-ISRAELITES  of  the  Ephraimitish 
or  Birthright  kingdom,  while  those  mongrel  post-Sa¬ 
maritans,  who  were  gathered  up  from  various  places, 
were  but  strangers  and  foreigners  in  that  portion  of 
the  Abrahamic  land  grant  known  as  Samaria. 

Following  this  record  of  the  removal  of  Israel  and 
the  placing  of  these  strangers  in  their  former  home, 
we  have  the  following:  “And  so  it  was  at  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  the  dwelling  there,  that  they  feared  not  the 
Lord :  therefore  the  Lord  sent  lions  among  them  which 
slew  some  of  them.  Wherefore  they  spake  to  the 
king  of  Assyria,  saying,  The  nations  which  thou  hast 
removed  and  placed  in  the  cities  of  Samaria,  know 
not  the  manner  of  the  God  of  the  land :  therefore  he 
hath  sent  lions  among  them,  and,  behold,  they  slay 
them,  because  they  know  not  the  manner  of  the  God 
of  the  land. 

“Then  the  king  of  Assyria  commanded,  saying, 
Carry  one  of  the  priests  whom  ye  brought  from 
thence;  and  let  him  go  and  dwell  there,  and  let  him 
teach  them  the  manner  of  the  God  of  the  land.  Then 
one  of  the  priests  whom  they  carried  away  from 
Samaria  came  and  dwelt  in  Bethel,  and  taught  them 
how  they  should  fear  the  Lord. 


Samaria-Israel  Cast  Out  and  Cast  Off 


103 


“Howbeit  every  nation  made  gods  of  their  own,  and 
put  them  in  the  houses  of  the  high  places  which  the 
(former)  Samaritans  (Israelites)  had  made,  every 
nation  in  their  cities  wherein  they  dwelt;  the  men  of 
Babylon  made  Succoth-benoth  (an  idol),  and  the  men 
of  Cuth  made  Nergalm  (another  idol),  and  the  men 
of  Hamath  made  Ashima  (still  another).  And  the 
Avites  made  Nibhaz  and  Tartak  (still  others),  and  the 
Sepharvites  burnt  their  children  in  fire  to  Adramme- 
lech  and  Anammelech,  the  gods  of  Sepharviam. 

“So  they  feared  the  Lord  and  made  unto  themselves 
of  the  lowest  of  them  priests  of  the  high  places,  which 
sacrificed  for  them  in  the  houses  of  the  high 
places.  They  feared  the  Lord,  and  served  their  own 
gods,  after  the  manner  of  nations  (Joseph-Eph- 
raim-Samaria-Israel  whom  they  carried  away  from 
thence .  Unto  this  day  they  do  after  the  former  man¬ 
ners.”  (2  Kings  17:25-34.) 

Yes :  “after  the  former  manner’’  of  idolatrous  Is- 
real.  Yes ;  after  the  former  manner  of  Israel,  who 
feared — was  afraid  of — the  Lord,  but  served  their  own 
idol-gods.  Yes;  after  the  former  manner  of  Israel, 
who  built  those  same  high  places— the  groves,  tem¬ 
ples  and  altars — and  in  them  worshiped  the  works  of 
their  own  hands.  Yes;  after  the  former  manner  of 
Israel,  who  rejected  the  priests  of  the  Lord,  and  made 
priests  of  the  lowest  of  the  people.  Yes;  here  is  a 
perfect  flower,  produced  from  the  pollen  of  example, 
and  grown  upon  the  plant  of  “after  the  former  man¬ 
ner.”  Yes;  here  is  a  clear  case  of  gathering  thistles 
when  they  should  have  had  figs.  And  yet  that  poor 


104  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

» 

priest  whom  they  sent  back  was  not  to  blame,  for  he 
himself  was  one  of  the  lowest  of  his  race.  The  blame 
lay  behind  him — Israel ! 

The  charge  against  the  people  of  Israel  is,  “Surely  as 
a  wife  treacherously  departeth  from  her  husband,  so 
have  ye  dealt  treacherously  with  me,  O  house  of  Israel, 
saith  the  Lord.”  (Jere.  3:20.)  And  the  Lord  cried 
out,  “O  Ephraim,  thou  hast  committed  whoredom. 
Israel  is  defiled.”  (Hosea  5  :3.)  Hosea  is  also  used  of 
the  Lord  to  declare  “Ephraim  is  smitten.  *  *  My 
God  shall  cast  them  away,  because  they  did  not 
harken  unto  him.”  Thus  the  Lord  declares,  “I  will 
love  them  no  more ;”  but  in  the  bitterness  of  his  disap¬ 
pointment,  for  this  is  the  same  Lord  that  wept  over 
Jerusalem,  he  cried  out,  “O  Ephraim,  how  shall  I  give 
thee  up?” 

No!  No!  That  loving  One  did  not  want  to  cast 
them  off ;  but  they  forsook  him ;  they  would  not  have 
him  to  reign  over  them ;  they  would  no  longer  ask 
counsel  of  him  after  the  judgment  of  Urim  and  Thum- 
mim,  for  the  faithful  but  rejected  One  declares,  “My 
people  ask  counsel  at  their  stock  (cattle,  calves), 
and  their  staff  (support  or  stay)  declareth  unto  them: 
for  the  spirit  of  whoredom  hath  caused  them  to  err, 
and  they  have  gone  a  whoring  from  under  their  God.” 
(Hosea  4: 12.) 

Still  he  cries  after  them,  “Return,  O  backsliding  Is- 
real,  return!  Return  unto  me  and  I  will  return  unto 
you,  for  I  am  married  unto  you.  I  will  heal  your 
backslidings  and  love  you  freely.”  But  they  would  not. 
Previous  to  this  the  Lord  had  said  that  he  was  a  hus¬ 
band  to  Israel;  but  now,  disappointed,  he  turns  his 


Samaria-Israel  Cast  Out  and  Cast  Off  105 

heart  more  to  the  other  kingdom — that  of  Judah — and 
says  :  'Though  thou,  Israel,  play  the  harlot,  yet  let  not 
Judah  offend.”  (Hosea  4:  15.)  But  as  the  story  un¬ 
folds  we  find  that  Judah  offended  worse  than  Israel, 
and  that  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  after  the  driv¬ 
ing  out  of  Israel  they,  too,  were  carried  into  cap¬ 
tivity, — the  captivity  in  Babylon. 

Since  "the  head  of  Ephraim  is  Samaria,”  (Isa.  7:  9) 
there  need  be  no  difficulty  in  understanding  why  the 
Lord  should  declate  that  "the  inhabitants  of  Samaria 
shall  fear  because  of  the  calves  of  Beth-aven.” 
(Hosea  10:5.)  Beth-aven  is  defined  as  "House  of 
Vanities”;  "vain  emptiness.”  When  Jeroboam  set  up 
the  two  calves  for  Israel  to  worship  he  set  one  in 
Bethel,  which  means  "God's  house ;”  and  by  worship¬ 
ing  those  idols  they  turned  the  house  of  God  into 
a  house  of  vanity,  or  of  vain,  hollow,  unsatisfactory 
emptiness.  "Thus  provoking  the  Lord  God  of  Israel 
to  anger  (passionate  suffering)  by  their  vanities.” 
Hence  the  wail  of  the  prophet,  "They  trust  in  vanity 
and  speak  lies.” 

Let  us  note  carefully,  and  we  will  get  still  clearer 
light  concerning  the  calf  question.  •  "Israel  hath  cast 
off  the  thing  that  is  good  (God  and  his  care)  :  the 
enemy  shall  pursue  him  (because  they  had  cast  off 
the  protection  of  God).  They  have  set  up  kings, 
but  not  by  me  (their  own,  not  the  Lord’s,  choice)  : 
they  have  made  princes  (feudal  princes,  not  of  royal 
line),  and  I  knew  (Heb,  yada,  appoint,  recognize)  it 
not :  of  their  silver  and  their  gold  have  they  made 
them  (selves)  idols  (calves,  etc.)  that  (as  a  result) 
they  may  be  cut  off. 


106  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

“Thy  calf  (the  cause),  O  Samaria,  hath  cast  thee 
off  (the  result)  :  mine  anger  (long-suffering  passion) 
is  kindled  against  them :  how  long  will  it  be  ere  they 
(Israel)  attain  to  innocency  ?  (  i.  e.,  lack  of  guilt 
through  the  power  of  the  calf  to  forgive,  or  take  that 
guilt  away.) 

“For  from  Israel  was  it  also :  The  workmen  made  it, 
therefore  it  is  not  God.  But  the  calf  of  Samaria  shall 
be  broken  in  pieces. 

“For  they  have  sown  the  wind,  and  they  shall  reap 
„  the  whirlwind:  it  hath  left  no  standing  corn  (R,  V.)  ; 
the  bud  shall  yield  no  meal :  if  so  be  it  yield,  the 
strangers  (Post-Samaritans)  shall  swallow  it  up. 

“Israel  is  swallowed  up ;  now  shall  they  be  among 
the  Gentiles  as  a  vessel  wherein  is  no  pleasure.  For 
they  are  gone  up  to  Assyria  a  wild  ass  alone  (without 
God)  by  himself:  Ephraim  hath  hired  lovers  (Mar¬ 
ginal  reading:  loves ,  i.  e.,  having  no  loving  care  from 
the  Lord,  they  hire  some  one  to  love  them).  Yea, 
though  they  have  hired  (lovers)  among  the  nations, 
now  will  I  gather  them,  and  they  shall  begin  to  sorrow 
in  a  little  while  (marginal  reading)  for  the  burden 
of  the  king  of  princes. 

“Because  Ephraim  hath  made  many  altars  to  sin, 
altars  shall  be  to  him  a  sin.  I  have  written  to  him 
the  great  things  of  my  laws,  but  they  were  counted  as 
a  strange  thing.  They  sacrifice  (other)  flesh  for  the 
sacrifices  of  mine  offerings,  and  eat  it;  but  the  Lord 
accepteth  them  not :  now  will  he  remember  their  in¬ 
iquity,  and  visit  their  sins ;  they  shall  return  to  Egypt. 
(Figurative  to  them  of  captivity  and  bondage).  For 
Israel  hath  forgotten  his  maker.” 


Samaria-Israel  Cast  Out  and  Cast  Off  107 

Isaiah  fully -explains  the  expression,  “They  shall 
begin  to  sorrow  in  a  little  while,  for  the  burden  of  the 
King  of  Princes/’  in  the  following :  “O  Assyrian,  the 
rod  of  mine  anger,  and  the  staff  in  their  hand  is  mine 
indignation.  I  will  send  him  against  a  hypocritical 
nation  and  against  the  people  of  my  wrath  will  I  give 
him  a  charge,  to  take  the  spoil  and  to  take  the  prey 
and  to  tread  them  down  like  the  mire  of  the  streets. 
Howbeit  he  meaneth  not  so;  but  it  is  in  his  heart  to 
destroy  and  cut  off  nations  not  a  few.  For  he  saith, 
Are  not  my  princes  altogether  kings  ?”  (Isa.  10 :  5-8.) 

This  last  expression  was  an  Assyrian  boast.  The 
Assyrian  king  really  expected  to  destroy  Israel  and 
cut  them  off,  but  the  Word  of  God  has  gone  forth  that 
they  shall  never  be  destroyed.  In  order  to  punish 
them  he  allowed  the  Assyrian  to  “tread  them  down 
like  mire  of  the  streets.”  And  further  on  he  refers 
to  the  Egyptian  bondage,  and  says  that  the  Assyrian 
shall  smite  them  with  a  rod  and  lift  up  his  staff  against 
them,  “after  the  manner  of  Egypt.” 

It  is  high  time  for  us,  who  live  in  the  realm  of  faith, 
to  throw  off  our  lethargy,  arouse  ourselves  from  our 
God-dishonoring  stupidity  and  ignorance  and  under¬ 
stand  that  the  name  Samaria  has  a  prophetic  signif¬ 
icance,  as  well  as  a  historic  one.  Yes,  and  that  not 
only  Samaria,  but  that  the  names  of  Ephraim,  Joseph, 
Rachel,  Judah,  Jacob,  Israel  and  many  others  have  the 
same  signification  in  the  prophecies  of  the  Bible  that 
they  have  in  its  historic  portions.  That  is,  if  the 
names  Israel,  Samaria,  Ephraim,  etc.,  are  used  in  the 
history  to  designate  the  ten-tribed  Egypto-Israelitish 
Birthright  kingdom ;  then,  when  those  names  are  used 


io8  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

prophetically,  surely  the  prophecy  involved  must  refer 
to  the  same  people.  This  is  also  true  of  the  terms 
Judah  and  the  Jews.  True,  the  name  Israel  often  in¬ 
cludes  the  Jews,  for,  racially  speaking,  it  is  their  na¬ 
tional  name ;  but  it  is  used  again  and  again  and  again 
when  it  has  no  reference  whatever  to  the  Jewish  people. 

In  the  thirty-first  chapter  of  Jeremiah  the  Lord  has 
made  an  unconditional  promise  to  the  Birthright  na¬ 
tion.  This  promise  is  given  in  clear,  definite  and  un¬ 
mistakable  language,  which  he  declares  they  shall  con¬ 
sider  in  the  last  days ;  and  in  which  he  uses  the  names 
of  Jacob,  Ephraim,  Israel,  and  Samaria,  together  with 
the  name  of  Rachel,  the  mother  of  the  birthright  fam¬ 
ily.  It  is  in  this  prophecy  that  the  Lord  makes  use 
of  the  expression,  “I  am  a  father  to  Israel,  and  Eph¬ 
raim  is  my  first  born,”  in  connection  with  which  he 
says,  “He  that  scattered  Israel  will  gather  him,”  and 
commands  that  this  be  told  in  the  land  where  Eph¬ 
raim  is  living  in  the  last  days.  He  also  says  to  them, 
in  this  same  promise,  “Thou  shalt  yet  plant  vines  upon 
the  mountains  of  Samaria,”  and  to  this  he  further 
adds :  “A  great  company  shall  return  thither.” 

“Return  thither.” 

“Where  ?” 

To  the  place  from  which  they  came — SAMARIA! 

“Who  ?” 

Jacob-Rachel-Joseph-Ephraim-Samaria-Israel ! ! ! 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  Jews  went  into  the 
Babylonish  captivity ;  but  it  is  much  more  fully  known 
that  they  returned  from  that  captivity  and  dwelt,  for 
a  short  season,  in  Judea,  or  Jewry.  But,  aside  from 
that  one  priest  who  was  brought  back  from  among 


109 


Samaria-Israel  Cast  Out  and  Cast  Off 

the  captives  of  Israel,  and  who  dwelt  in  Bethel,  that 
he  might  teach  those  mongrel  post-Samaritans  the 
manner  of  the  God  of  the  land,  there  is  not  one  word 
of  history,  sacred  or  profane,  to  show  that  any  tribe, 
tribes,  or  remnants  of  tribes,  of  those  pre-Samaritans, 
the  children  of  Israel,  who  composed  the  northern 
kingdom,  have  ever  returned  to  and  dwelt  in  their 
former  home.  That  is,  that  portion  of  the  land  which 
the  Lord  God  of  heaven  and  earth  promised  to  their 
fathers,  and  which  is  known  in  Biblical  history  as  “Sa¬ 
maria,”  and  “All  Israel,”  in  contradistinction  from  that 
which  is  known  as  “All  Judea”  and  “Jewry,”  which 
was  the  home  of  the  Jews. 

In  another  chapter  we  have  given  the  details  of  the 
Babylonian  captivity  of  the  Jews,  but  just  at  present 
we  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  their 
captivity  occurred  in  588  B.  C.  (Usher’s  Chronology, 
which  is  not  correct  by  more  than  eight  years,  but  is 
sufficiently  correct  for  our  present  purpose),  and  the 
first  prophecy  uttered  concerning  that  captivity  was 
623  B.  C.  and  the  last  one  twenty-three  years  later, 
i.  e.,  600  B.  C.  But  the  prophet  Amos  had  prophesied 
concerning  the  captivity  and  return  from  captivity  of 
the  ten-tribed  kingdom  one  hundred  and  sixty-four 
years  prior  to  the  first  intimation  that  the  Jews  would 
ever  go  into  captivity,  and  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  years  before  they  were  carried  away  into  captivity. 

In  writing  concerning  the  captivity  of  the  ten  tribes 
the  names  which  Amos  used  to  designate  them  are, 
“Samaria,”  used  four  times;  “Joseph,”  used  three 
times  ,  Isaac,  used  twice ;  “Bethel,”  used  five  times, 
and  “Israel,”  used  seventeen  times. 


no 


Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

Amos  is  the  only  one  of  the  prophets  who  applied 
the  name  of  Isaac  to  either  one  of  the  two  kingdoms. 
But  there  can  be  no  possible  doubt  that  Amos  gives 
the  name  of  Isaac  to  the  ten-tribed  kingdom.  The 
first  verse  in  the  book  of  Amos  reads :  “The  words  of 
Amos,  who  was  among  the  herdsmen  of  Tekoa,  which 
he  saw  concerning  Israel,  in  the  days  of  Uzziah,  king 
of  Judah,  and  in  the  days  of  Jeroboam  (this  is  Jero¬ 
boam  the  second)  son  of  Joash,  king  of  Israel.  He 
uses  the  title  of  Isaac  as  follows :  “And  the  high  places 
(groves  for  worship)  of  Isaac  shall  be  desolate,  and 
the  sanctuaries  (Bethel  and  Dan)  of  Israel  shall  be 
laid  waste,  and  I  will  rise  up  against  the  house  of  Jero¬ 
boam  (king  of  ten-tribed  Israel)  with  the  sword. 
Then  Amaziah,  the  priest  of  Bethel  (the  place  where 
they  went  to  worship  the  calf),  sent  to  Jeroboam, 
king  of  Israel,  saying,  Amos  hath  conspired  against 
thee  in  the  midst  of  the  house  of  Israel :  the  land  is 
not  able  to  bear  all  his  words.  For  thus  Amos  saith, 
Jeroboam  shall  die  by  the  sword,  and  Israel  shall 
surely  be  led  away  captive  out  of  their  own  land. 
Also  Amaziah  saith  unto  Amos,  O  thou  seer,  go  flee 
away  into  the  land  of  Judah  (Jewry)  and  there  eat 
bread,  and  prophesy  there ;  but  prophesy  not  again 
any  more  at  Bethel :  for  it  is  the  king's  chapel."  (Amos 

In  the  days  of  Joshua,  when  the  land  of  Canaan 
was  divided  by  lot,  Bethel  fell  to  the  house  of  Joseph. 
Thus  we  find  it  in  possession  of  tl  Birthright  kingdom 
and  used  as  the  chapel  of  this  idolatrous  king,  for 
Jeroboam'  the  first  had  polluted  it  with  one  of  the 
calves. 


Samaria-Israel  Cast  Out  and  Cast  Off 


ill- 


While  it  is  true  that  this  people  were  taken  to  Assy¬ 
ria,  and  were  given  a  promise  that  they  shall  eventu¬ 
ally  return,  there  is  something  else  which  must  first 
occur;  for  the  Lord  has  said  of  them  that  after  they 
were  cast  out  he  would  “sift  the  house  of  Israel 
among  all  nations,  like  as  corn  is  sifted  in  a  sieve,  yet 
shall  not  the  least  grain  fall  upon  the  earth.”  (Amos 
9  •  9-) 

Then,  after  giving  this  prophecy  concerning  the  sift¬ 
ing  of  the  house  of  Israel  among  all  nations,  Amos 
prophesies  concerning  their  return,  as  follows :  “And 
I  will  bring  again  the  captivity  of  my  people  of  Israel, 
and  they  shall  build  the  waste  cities,  and  inhabit  them ; 
and  they  shall  plant  vineyards,  and  drink  the  wine 
thereof ;  they  shall  also  make  gardens,  and  eat  the 
fruit  of  them.  And  I  will  plant  them  upon  their  land, 
and  they  shall  no  more  be  pulled  up  out  of  their  land 
which  I  have  given  them,  saith  the  Lord  thy  God.” 
(Amos  9: 14,  15.) 

But,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  this  prophecy  was 
written  two  centuries  before  the  Jews  were  sent  into 
captivity,  while  they  were  yet  counted  among  the 
faithful  saints,  it  having  no  application  to  them  what¬ 
ever,  and  that,  when  fulfilled,  the  people  to  whom  it 
refers  SHALL  NO  MORE  BE  PULLED  UP  out 
of  their  land — there  are  theory-bound  men  who  are  so 
determined  that  everything  Israelitish  shall  be  Jewish 
that  they  have  the  audacity  to  tell  us  that  this  prophecy 
was  fulfilled  when  the  Jews  returned  from  the  Babylon¬ 
ish  captivity. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  JEWS  GO  TO  BABYLON  AND  RETURN. 

The  twenty-third  chapter  of  Ezekiel  contains  a  short 
story  which  seems  somewhat  veiled,  but  a  knowledge 
of  the  two  houses  and  their  respective  capitals  lifts 
the  veil  and  quickly  sweeps  it  aside.  It  is  of  interest 
to  us,  or  should  be,  and  begins  as  follows :  ‘There 
were  two  women,  daughters  of  one  mother,  who  com¬ 
mitted  adultery  in  their  youth  in  Egypt,  the  names  of 
whom  were  Aholah,  the  elder,  and  Aholibah,  her  sister, 
and  they  were  mine,  saith  the  Lord,  and  they  bare 
sons  and  daughters/’  “Thus  were  their  names ;  SA¬ 
MARIA  is  Aholah  (Israel),  and  JERUSALEM  Aho¬ 
libah  (Judah).”  Ezekiel  23:4.  Then  the  story  con¬ 
tinues  and  tells  how  Aholah,  the  elder,  played  the  har¬ 
lot,  and  was  followed  into  that  sin  by  her  sister  Aho¬ 
libah,  who  was  more  corrupt  than  Aholah  had  been. 
So  God  judged  them  “as  women  that  break  wedlock.” 
Before  the  story  is  ended  the  history  of  Israel’s  captiv¬ 
ity  to  the  Assyrians  is  told,  together  with  prophecies 
concerning  the  captivity  of  Judah  in  Babylon. 

The  Lord  further  says  to  the  Jews  :  “And  thine  elder 
sister  is  Samaria  (Israel),  she  and  her  daughters  that 
dwell  at  thy  left  hand ;  and  thy  younger  sister,  that 
dwelleth  at  thy  right  hand,  is  Sodom  and  her  daugh¬ 
ters.  Yet  hast  thou  not  walked  after  their  ways,  nor 
done  after  their  abominations ;  but,  as  if  it  were  a  very 


The  Jews  go  to  Babylon  and  Return  113 

little  thing,  thou  wast  corrupted  more  than  they  in  all 
thy  ways.  *  *  *  Neither  hath  Samaria  (Is¬ 

rael)  committed  half  of  thy  sins;  but  thou  hast  multi¬ 
plied  thine  abominations  more  than  they  and  hast  justi- 

9 

fied  (by  comparison)  thy  sisters  in  all  thine  abomina¬ 
tions  which  thou  hast  done.  Thou  also,  which  hast 
judged  thy  sisters,  bear  thine  own  shame  for  thy  sins 
that  thou  hast  committed  more  abominable  than  they.” 
(Ezekiel  16:46-52.) 

This  is  in  harmony  with  the  record  of  Judah,  as 
given  by  Jeremiah  in  the  following:  “And  I  saw,  when 
for  all  the  causes  whereby  backsliding  Israel  commit¬ 
ted  adultery  I  had  put  her  away,  and  given  her  a  bill 
of  divorce;  yet  her  treacherous  sister  Judah  feared 
not  but  went  and  played  the  harlot  also.  *  *  * 

And  the  Lord  said  unto  me,  The  backsliding  Israel 
hath  justified  herself  more  than  treacherous  Judah.” 
(Jeremiah  3  :  8,  11.) 

“And  the  Lord  said,  I  will  remove  Judah  also  out 
of  my  sight,  as  I  have  removed  Israel,  and  will  cast 
off  this  city  Jerusalem  which  I  have  chosen,  and  the 
house  of  which  I  said,  My  name  shall  be  there”  (2 
Kings  23  :  27).  So  Jeremiah  was  commanded  to  stand 
in  the  gate  of  the  Lord’s  house  and  proclaim  the  word 
of  the  Lord  unto  all  the  men  of  Judah,  and  among 
other  things  say  unto  them :  “But  go  ye  now  unto 
my  place,  which  is  Shiloh  (one  of  the  cities  of  Joseph), 
where  I  set  my  name  at  first,  and  see  what  I  did  to  it 
for  the  wickedness  of  my  people  Israel.  And  now, 
because  ye  have  done  all  these  works,  saith  the  Lord, 
and  I  spake  unto  you,  rising  up  early  and  speaking,  but 
ye  heard  not ;  and  I  called  you,  but  ye  answered  not. 


1 14  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Therefore  will  I  do  unto  this  house,  which  is  called  by 
my  name,  wherein  ye  trust,  and  unto  the  place  which 
I  gave  to  you  and  to  your  fathers,  as  I  have  done  to 
Shiloh.  And  I  will  cast  you  out  of  my  sight,  as  I 
have  cast  out  all  your  brethren,  even  the  whole  seed 
of  Ephraim.”  (Jeremiah  7:  12-15  •) 

The  above  is  the  prophecy;  the  following  is  a  part 
of  the  historic  record  of  the  fact  after  its  fulfillment. 
'Thus  Judah  was  carried  away  captive  out  of  his  own 
land.  This  is  the  people  whom  Nebuchadnezzar  car¬ 
ried  away  captive  in  the  seventh  year  (of  his  reign) 
three  thousand  Jews  and  three-and-twenty.  In  the 
eighteenth  year  of  Nebuchadnezzar  he  carried  away 
captive  from  Jerusalem  eight  hundred  thirty-and-two 
persons.  In  the  three-and-twentieth  year  of  Neb¬ 
uchadnezzar  Nebuzar-adan,  the  captain  of  the  guard 
carried  away  captive  of  the  Jews  seven  hundred  fortv- 
and-five  persons.  All  the  persons  were  four  thousand 
and  six  hundred.”  (Jeremiah  52:27-30.) 

Thus  doth  Jeremiah  teach,  that  it  was  the  Jews,  or 
the  people  composing  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  who  were 
carried  into  Babylon  by  Nebuchadnezzar;  and  in  order 
to  show  that  it  was  the  Jewish  people,  and  they  only, 
who  returned  from  that  captivity,  we  cite  the  follow¬ 
ing:  "Now  these  are  the  children  of  the  province 

(Judea  had  been  a  province  to  Babylon  twenty  years 
before  Nebuchadnezzar  robbed  and  burned  the  temple, 
destroyed  Jerusalem,  and  took  the  Jews  to  Babylon) 
that  went  up  out  of  the  captivity  of  those  which  had 
been  carried  away,  whom  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  king 


The  Jews  go  to  Babylon  and  Return  115 

of  Babylon,  had  carried  away  into  Babylon,  and  came 
again  unto  Jerusalem,  and  Judah  every  one  to  his 
city.”  (Ezra  2:1.) 

The  books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  are  the  only  books 
of  the  Bible  which  deal  with  the  history  of  that  re¬ 
turn.  Jeremiah  had  prophesied  that  the  Jews  should 
remain  captives  in  the  Chaldean  Empire  (Babylon 
was  the  capital  of  that  empire)  for  seventy  years. 
Just  as  the  seventy  years  came  to  an  end  the  empire 
was  taken  by  the  Medes  and  Persians,  and  it  became 
known  in  history  as  the  Medo-Persian  empire. 

Ezra  begins  his  record  as  follows :  “Now  in  the  first 
year  of  Cyrus,  King  of  Persia,  that  the  word  of  the 
Lord  by  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah  might  be  fulfilled,  the 
Lord  stirred  up  the  spirit  of  Cyrus,  King  of  Persia, 
that  he  made  a  proclamation  throughout  all  his  king¬ 
dom,  and  put  it  also  in  writing,  saying,  Thus  said 
Cyrus  King  of  Persia,  The  Lord  God  of  heaven  hath 
given  me  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth;  and  he  hath 
charged  me  to  build  him  an  house  at  Jerusalem,  which 
is  in  Judah.  Who  is  there  among  you  of  all  his  peo¬ 
ple?  His  God  be  with  him,  and  let  him  go  up  to 
Jerusalem,  which  is  in  Judah,  and  build  the  house  of 
the  Lord  God  of  Israel  (he  is  the  God)  which  is  in 
Jerusalem.  And  whosoever  remaineth  in  any  place 
(throughout  the  kingdom)  where  he  sojourneth,  let 
the  men  of  his  place  keep  him  with  silver  and  with 
gold  and  with  goods  and  with  beasts,  besides  the  free 

will  offering  for  the  house  of  God  that  is  in  Jeru¬ 
salem/ 

“Then  rose  up  the  chief  of  the  fathers  of  Judah  and 
Benjamin,  and  the  priests,  and  the  Levites,  with  all 


ii6  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

them  whose  spirit  God  hath  raised,  to  go  up  to  build  the 
house  of  the  Lord  which  is  in  Jerusalem.”  (Ezra 

1 :  i-50 

Do  you  notice  that  it  is  only  the  men  of  the  tribes 
of  Judah,  Benjamin,  and  Levi  who  are  mentioned  as 
responding  to  this  call?  Also  you  will  remember 
that  those  three  tribes  are  the  three  which  compose 
the  kingdom  of  Judah  which  went  into  the  Babylonish 
captivity,  the  ten  tribes  having  been  carried  away  into 

the  Assyrian  captivity  one  hundred  and  thirty  years 
prior  to  that. 

Also  notice  that  it  was  not  all  the  fathers  nor  all  of 
Judah,  Benjamin,  and  Levi  that  rose  up  to  this  call, 
but  the  chief  of  the  fathers,  and  all  of  the  people  in 
those  tribes  mentioned  whose  spirit  the  Lord  had 
made  willing.  So  these  willing  ones  went  to  work, 
gathering  together  their  silver,  gold,  goods,  and  other 
precious  things.  And  Cyrus,  the  king,  brought  out  of 
the  house  of  one  of  the  idols,  where  Nebuchadnezzar 
had  put  them,  all  of  the  vessels  belonging  to  the  house 
of  the  Lord,  and  through  his  treasurer  “numbered 
them  unto  Sheshbazzar,  the  prince  of  Judah.  And  this 
is  the  number  of  them :  Thirty  charges  of  silver,  nine 
and  thirty  knives.  Thirty  basins  of  gold,  silver  of  a 
second  sort  four  hundred  and  ten,  and  other  vessels 
a  thousand.  All  the  vessels  of  gold  and  silver  were 
five  thousand  and  four  hundred.  All  these  did  Shesh¬ 
bazzar  bring  up  with  him  of  the  captivity  that  were 
brought  up  from  Babylon  to  Jerusalem.”  (Ezra  1 : 8- 
ii.)  Please  notice  that  among  these  things  mentioned 
as  belonging  to  the  house  of  God  there  is  no  mention  of 


The  Jews  go  to  Babylon  and  Return  117 

the  Ark  of  the  Covenant.  The  reason  is  that  the  Ark 

was  with  the  Birthright  people. 

Some  presume  to  teach  that  the  house  of  Israel  re¬ 
turned  to  Palestine  with  the  Jews  when  they  came 
from  Babylon.  When  we  get  to  that  phase  of  our 
subject  we  will  prove  by  both  the  Old  and  New  Testa¬ 
ments  that  they  did  not.  But  just  here  we  need  to  say 
that  in  the  books  which  deal  with  the  history  of  this 
return  there  is  not  the  slightest  mention,  direct  or  in¬ 
direct,  by  inference  or  reference,  of  the  other  kingdom, 
or  house,  of  Israel. 

There  is  a  mention  of  the  army  of  Samaria  by  Nehe- 
miah,  but  you  will  find  that  they  belonged  to  the  Post- 
Samaritans,  who  with  others  opposed  and  hindered 
the  Jews  in  their  work,  until  finally  they  forced  them 
to  cease  work  on  the  temple.  Here  is  the  record :  “But 
it  came  to  pass,  that  when  Sanballat  heard  that  we 
builded  the  wall  he  was  wroth,  and  took  great  indig¬ 
nation,  and  n*ocked  the  Jews.  And  he  spake  before 
his  brethren  and  the  army  of  Samaria,  and  said,  What 
do  these  feeble  Jews?”  (Neh.  4:1,  2.)  Again: 
“Now  when  the  adversaries  of  Judah  and  Benjamin 
heard  that  the  children  of  the  captivity  builded  the 
temple  unto  the  Lord  God  of  Israel.”  (Ezra  4:  1.) 

Following  these  statements  is  the  account  of  a  pro¬ 
longed  persecution  of  the  Jews  by  those  mongrel  na¬ 
tions  of  Post-Samaritans.  They  hired  counselors,  wrote 
letters  of  protest,  resorted  to  trickery  and  hypocrisy.  A 
letter  of  protest  was  written  to  Artaxerxes,  king  of  Per¬ 
sia,  which  was  signed  by  many,  together  with  “the  rest 
of  the  nations  whom  the  noble  Asnapar  brought  over 


Ii8  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

and  set  in  the  cities  of  Samaria/'  This  had  the  ef¬ 
fect  of  stopping  the  work  on  the  temple,  and  it  did 
not  begin  again  until  during  the  second  year  of  Darius, 
at  which  time  these  imported  Samaritans  again  tried 
to  hinder.  The  account  of  this  is  given  by  Josephus, 
as  follows:  “When  the  Samaritans,  who  were  still 
enemies  to  the  tribes  of  Judah  and  Benjamin,  heard 
the  sound  of  trumpets,  they  came  running  together, 
and  desired  to  know  what  was  the  occasion  of  the 
tumult;  and  when  they  perceived  that  it  was  the  Jews 
who  had  been  carried  captive  to  Babylon  and  were  re¬ 
building  the  temple,  they  came  to  Zorobabel,  and  to 
Jeshua,  and  to  the  heads  of  the  families,  and  desired 
that  they  would  give  them  leave  to  build  the  temple 
with  them,  and  to  be  partners  with  them  in  building  it ; 
for  they  said,  “We  worship  your  God,  and  especially 
pray  to  him,  and  are  desirous  of  your  religious  settle¬ 
ment,  and  this  ever  since  Shalmaneser,  the  king  of  As¬ 
syria,  transplanted  us  out  of  Cuthah  and  Medea  to  this 
place.”  When  they  thus  said,  Zorobabel  and  Jeshua, 
the  high  priest,  and  the  heads  of  the  families  of  the 
Israelites,  replied  to  them  that,  “it  was  impossible  for 
them  to  permit  them  to  be  their  partners,  while  they 
only  had  been  appointed  to  build  that  temple  at  first  by 
Cyrus,  and  now  by  Darius,  although  it  was  lawful  for 
them  to  come  and  worship  there  if  they  pleased,  and 
that  they  could  allow  them  nothing  but  that  in  common 
with  them,  which  was  common  to  them  with  all  other 
men,  to  come  to  their  temple,  and  worship  there.” 

“When  the  Cutheans  heard  this,  for  the  Samaritans 
have  that  appellation,  they  had  indignation  at  it,  and 
persuaded  the  nations  of  Syria  to  desire  the  governors, 


The  Jews  go  to  Babylon  and  Return  119 

in  the  same  manner  as  they  had  done  formerly  in  the 
days  of  Cyrus,  and  again  in  the  days  of  Cambysses 
afterwards,  to  put  a  stop  to  the  building  of  the  temple, 
and  to  endeavor  to  delay  and  distract  the  Jews  in  their 
zeal  about  it.” 

This  delayed  matters  for  some  time,  but  finally 
Darius  ordered  a  search  among  the  royal  records, 
which  resulted  in  the  finding  of  the  record  of  Cyrus 
concerning  the  restoration  of  the  Jews,  the  building  of 
the  temple,  and  what  the  Lord  commanded  him  in  ref¬ 
erence  to  them.  The  contents  of  this  proclamation  is 
given  by  Josephus,  as  follows: 

“Cyrus,  the  king,  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  com¬ 
manded  that  the  temple  should  be  built  in  Jerusalem; 
and  the  altar  in  height  should  be  three-score  cubits, 
and  its  breadth  of  the  same,  with  three  edifices  of  pol¬ 
ished  stone,  and  one  edifice  of  stone  of  their  own  coun¬ 
try  :  and  he  ordained  that  the  expenses  of  it  should  be 
paid  out  of  the  king’s  revenue.  He  also  commanded 
that  the  vessels  which  Nebuchadnezzar  had  pillaged 
out  of  the  temple  and  carried  to  Babylon  should  be 
restored  to  the  people  of  Jerusalem,  and  that  the  care 
of  these  things  should  belong  to  Sanadassar,  the  gov¬ 
ernor  and  president  of  Syria  and  Phoenicia,  and  to  his 
associates,  that  they  may  not  meddle  with  that  place, 
but  may  permit  the  servants  of  God,  the  Jews  and  their 
rulers,  to  build  the  temple.  He  also  ordained  that  they 
should  assist  him  in  the  work ;  and  that  they  should 
pay  to  the  Jews,  out  of  the  tribute  of  the  country  where 
they  were  governors,  on  account  of  the  sacrifices,  bulls 
and  rams,  and  lambs  and  kids  of  goats,  and  fine  flour, 
and  oil,  and  wine,  and  all  other  things  that  the  priests 


120  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

should  suggest  to  them ;  and  that  they  should  pray  for 
the  preservation  of  the  king,  and  of  the  Persians,  and 
for  such  as  had  transgressed  any  of  these  orders  thus 
sent  to  them,  he  commanded  that  they  should  be 
caught,  and  hung  upon  a  cross,  and  their  substance 
confiscated  to  the  king’s  use.  He  also  prayed  to  God 
against  them,  that  if  any  one  attempted  to  hinder  the 
building  of  the  temple,  God  would  strike  him  dead, 
and  thereby  restrain  his  wickedness.” 

Josephus  also  relates  another  trick  of  these  Cuthean 
Samaritans,  as  follows:  "When  Shalmanesar,  the 
king  of  Assyria,  had  it  told  him,  that  Hoshea,  the  king 
of  Israel,  had  sent  privately  to  So,  the  king  of  Egypt, 
desiring  his  assistance  against  him,  he  was  very  angry, 
and  made  an  expedition  against  Samaria,  in  the 
seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Hoshea ;  but  when  he  was 
not  admitted  into  the  city  by  the  king,  he  besieged 
Samaria  three  years,  and  took  it  by  force  in  the  ninth 
year  of  the  reign  of  Hoshea,  and  in  the  seventh  year  of 
Hezekiah,  king  of  Jerusalem,  and  quite  demolished 
the  government  of  the  Israelites,  and  transplanted  all 
the  people  into  Medea  and  Persia,  among  whom  he 
took  King  Hoshea  alive ;  and  when  he  had  removed 
these  people  out  of  this  their  land,  he  transplanted 
other  nations  out  of  Cutha,  a  place  so  called,  (for  there 
is  still  a  river  of  that  name  in  Persia,)  into  Samaria, 
and  into  the  country  of  the  Israelites.  So  the  ten 
tribes  of  the  Israelites  were  removed,  etc.  *  *  * 

But  now  the  Cutheans  who  removed  into  Samaria, 
(for  that  is  the  name  they  have  been  called  by  to  this 
time,  because  they  were  brought  out  of  the  country 
called  Cutha,  which  is  a  country  of  Persia,  and  there 


The  Jews  go  to  Babylon  and  Return  121 

is  a  river  of  the  same  name  in  it,)  and  are  called  in  the 
Hebrew  tongue  Cutheans,  but  in  the  Greek  tongue 
Samaritans.  And  when  they  see  the  Jews  in  prosper¬ 
ity  they  pretend  that  they  are  changed,  and  allied  to 
them,  and  call  them  kinsmen,  as  though  they  were  de¬ 
rived  from  Joseph.” 

Our  object  in  inserting  these  quotations  is  three¬ 
fold.  First:  to  show  that  not  only  the  sacred  writers, 
but  also  the  secular  historian,  and  the  rulers,  both 
friendly  and  unfriendly,  who  had  to  do  with  those 
Israelites  who  went  into  and  came  out  of  the  Babylon¬ 
ish  captivity,  called  them  Jews. 

Second:  to  show  how  the  bitter  feeling  was  engen¬ 
dered  among  the  Jews  against  those  Cuthea-Samari- 
tans,  whom  they  called  “Dogs,”  whom  they  never  for¬ 
gave,  and  with  whom  they  never  had  any  dealings. 
When  Christ  spoke  to  the  woman  of  Samaria  at  the 
well,  she  was  so  surprised  that  her  first  words  were, 
“How  is  it  that  thou,  being  a  Jew,  askest  drink  of  me,  a 
woman  of  Samaria?  for  the  Jews  have  no  dealings 
with  the  Samaritans.” 

Third:  to  show  that  neither  Josephus,  who  writes 
on  the  “Antiquities  of  the  Jews,”  nor  their  enemies,  the 
Cuthea-Samaritans,  ever  confounds  the  ten-tribed  Is¬ 
raelites  with  the  Jewish  Israelites. 

Oh,  how  we  do  thank  God  that  he  made  Josephus 
write  concerning  those  imported  nations  in  Samaria, 
who,  because  they  were  living  in  that  land  which  had 
been  the  home  of  the  Birthright  kingdom,  when  they 
were  seeking  that  which  would  be  advantageous  to 
them,  would  sidle  up  to  the  Jews,  and  claim  kinship. 
“AS  THOUGH  THEY  WERE  DERIVED  FROM 


122  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 


JOSEPH.”  What  impudence  !  Think  of  the  audacity 
of  these  imported  mongrels  claiming  to  be  a  portion  of 
the  Abrahamic  birthright-holders.  Is  it  much  marvel 
that  the  Jews  should  dub  such  a  race  of  fawners  by  the 
appropriate  name  of  Dogs  ? 

Both  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  the  Biblical  historians  of 
the  return  of  the  Jews  from  Babylon  to  Judea,  give 
the  genealogy  of  all  who  returned,  a  list  of  all  the  men 
who  worked  on  the  wall,  a  special  list  of  all  the  priests 
who  had  married  strange  wives,  and  the  exact  number 
of  individuals  who  returned.  The  aggregate  of  these 
is  summed  up  as  follows:  “The  whole  congregation 
together  was  forty-and-two  thousand  three  hundred 
and  three-score,  besides  their  servants  and  their 
maids,  of  whom  there  were  seven  thousand,  three 
hundred  thirty-seven.”  Ezra  states  that  there  were 
among  these  servants  two  hundred  singing  men  and 
women,  but  Nehemiah  puts  the  number  of  singers  at 
two  hundred  and  forty-five.  This  could  easily  have 
been  the  case  by  the  time  he  got  there,  for  the  going 
up  which  was  led  by  him  was  the  second  one,  and  did 
not  take  place  until  fourteen  years  and  a  half  after  that 
which  was  led  by  Ezra.  And  yet  in  the  genealogical 
records  of  this  “whole  congregation”  of  forty-nine 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-seven  Jews,  there 
is  not  a  tribal  name  mentioned  except  those  of  Judah, 
Benjamin  and  Levi 

Please  remember  that  it  is  the  people  of  these  three 
tribes  who  compose  the  mass  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah, 
and  who  only  are  called  Jews. 

Josephus  tells  us  of  an  epistle  which  was  written  by 
Xerxes,  the  son  of  Darius,  at  the  time  when  the  Jews 


The  Jews  go  to  Babylon  and  Return  123 

were  getting  ready  to  leave  Babylon,  and  sent  to  Es- 
dras  (Ezra,)  which  was  the  cause  of  great  rejoicing 
among  them.  He  speaks  of  the  effect  it  had  upon 
them,  as  follows :  “So  he  read  the  epistle  at  Babylon  to 
those  Jews  that  went  there,  but  he  kept  the  epistle  it¬ 
self,  and  sent  a  copy  of  it  to  all  those  of  his  own  nation 
that  were  in  Medea.  And  when  these  Jews  had  un¬ 
derstood  what  piety  the  king  had  toward  God,  and 
what  kindness  he  had  for  Esdras,  they  were  all  greatly 
pleased;  nay,  many  of  them  took  their  effects  with 
them,  and  came  to  Babylon,  as  very  desirous  of  going 
down  tof Jerusalem;  but  then  THE  ENTIRE  BODY 
of  THE  PEOPLE  of  ISRAEL  remained  in  that  coun¬ 
try,  wherefore  there  are  but  two  tribes  in  Asia  and 
Europe  subject  to  the  Romans,  while  THE  TEN 
TRIBES  are  beyond  the  Euphrates  till  now  (A.  D. 
95),  and  are  an  immense  multitude,  and  not  to  be  es¬ 
timated  by  numbers/’ 

We  note  that  First  and  Second  Kings,  the  Chroni¬ 
cles,  Josephus,  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  all  speak  of  the 
kingdom  of  Judah  at  times,  as  “Judah  and  Benja¬ 
min.”  This  is  why  Josephus  says  that  there  were  only 
two  tribes  under  the  power  of  the  Romans. 

The  reason  for  this  is  supposed  to  be  the  fact  that 
the  Levites  were  priests  who  served  in  the  temple,  and 
did  not  count  for  anything  when  it  came  to  the 
political  and  fighting  strength  of  the  Jewish  people, 
for  the  Levites  were  undoubtedly  with  Judah  and  Ben¬ 
jamin,  as  a  part  of  the  Kingdom  of  Judah. 

Furthermore,  aside  from  the  mention  of  the  tribal 
name  of  Ashur,  as  the  name  of  the  tribe  to  which 


124  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Anna,  the  prophetess  belonged,  there  is  not  a  tribal 
name  used  in  any  historic  portion  of  the  new  Testa¬ 
ment,  except  the  three  tribal  names  of  the  Jewish  peo¬ 
ple,  i.  e.,  Judah,  Levi,  and  Benjamin.  The  ancestors 
of  Anna  could  easily  have  belonged  to  one  of  those 
scattered  families  who  returned  out  of  Israel  unto  the 
kingdom  of  Judah,  because  they  would  not  serve  Jero¬ 
boam’s  calves. 


CHAPTER  X. 


JOSEPH-ISRAE)L  LOST. 

In  spite  of  all  the  facts  to  the  contrary,  there  is  a 
class  of  teachers  who  without  one  word  of  historic 
proof  insist  upon  teaching  that  the  Egypto-Israelites 
returned  with  the  Jews.  Here  is  the  argument  of  a 
commentator  who  has  written  two  commentaries  on 
‘The  Revelation.”  He  is  a  good  man  and  has  a  pure 
heart ;  but  in  so  far  as  this  subject  is  concerned,  he  cer¬ 
tainly  has  not  informed  himself.  He  first  asks  the 
question:  “Were  not  the  ten  tribes  lost  after  the  de¬ 
portation  of  Shalmanezar,  as  none  but  Judah  and  Ben¬ 
jamin  returned  in  the  Exodus  of  Nehemiah?”  And 
answers  it  thus :  “There  is  a  general  misapprehension 
and  delusion  on  that  subject.  As  the  ten  tribes  were 
carried  into  captivity  a  hundred  and  thirty-four  years 
before  Judah  and  Benjamin;  yet  doubtless  many  of 
the  ten  tribes  returned  with  them  to  Palestine.  So  the 
ten  tribes  were  not  lost,  but  they  simply  lost  their  tribe- 
hood,  as  they  did  not  return  in  their  organized  tribes, 
but  as  individuals.  Hence  all  of  this  hue  and  cry  about 
the  lost  tribes,  ransacking  all  the  world  to  find  them, 
and  writing  vast  volumes,  is  a  piece  of  twaddle  and 
nonsense.” 

Thus  with  one  presumptive  wave  of  the  hand  he  at¬ 
tempts  to  sweep  from  before  our  eyes  the  most  im¬ 
portant  subject,  so  far  as  the  vindication  of  the  Word 


126  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

of  God  is  concerned,  that  has  ever  made  an  appeal  to  a 
Bible-loving  people  for  an  honest  hearing. 

This  same  commentator  speaks  of  “The  Exodus  of 
Nehemiah,”  and  of  the  number  that  returned  “under 
Nehemiah,”  as  though  there  were  but  one  Exodus 
from  Babylon.  Whereas  there  were  two,  the  first  and 
largest  being  under  Ezra,  while  that  of  Nehemiah  was 
fourteen  years  later,  and  was  composed  of  those  Jews 
“which  were  left”  of  the  Babylonish  captivity,  who 
did  not  go  up  with  the  first  or  Ezra  exodus. 

He  further  says :  “The  ten  tribes  had  been  in  the 
Chaldean  Empire  two  hundred  years  at  the  time  of  the 
Exodus.”  But  it  is  written  “that  Israel  was  taken  into 
Assyria,  and  placed  in  the  regions  of  the  rivers  Hilah 
and  Habor,”  a  region  of  country  more  than  five  hun¬ 
dred  miles  from  Babylon.  To  us  it  seems  an  insult  to 
the  integrity  of  God  for  any  man  to  presume  that  the 
ten  tribes  ever  saw  Babylon. 

This  commentator  still  further  says :  “Of  course  they 
were  but  a  fraction  of  Judah  and  Benjamin”  which 
returned.  But  God  says:  “All  the  men  of  Judah  and 
Benjamin  gathered  themselves  together  unto  Jerusa¬ 
lem,  and  EVERY  ONE  unto  his  city.”  Is  there  any 
question  here  as  to  which  we  shall  believe?  None 
whatever ;  but,  since  our  brother  says  that  only  a  frac¬ 
tion  of  Judah  and  Benjamin  returned,  we  would  ask: 
Where  are  the  remaining  fractions  from  which  that 
fraction  was  taken?  And  since  he  tells  us  that  doubt¬ 
less  many  of  the  ten  tribes  returned  with  that  fraction, 
we  would  ask :  Where  is  the  whole  number  from  which 
the  “many”  came?  And,  without  waiting  for  an  an¬ 
swer,  we  will  hasten  to  say  that  when  this  man  was 


Joseph-Israel  Lost 


127 


driven  to  use  the  “doubtless”  argument,  he  had  evi¬ 
dently  lost  something,  and  that  the  people  in  question 
are  lost,  at  least  to  him. 

When  the  Lord  had  determined  to  give  Israel  a  bill 
of  divorce,  he  called  Hosea  to  prophesy  against  her, 
and,  in  order  to  have  a  perfect  type  of  her  adulterous 
condition,  made  him  take  a  wife  of  whoredoms  and 
bear  children  of  whoredoms  because  the  people  of 
“the  land  had  committed  great  whoredoms,  departing 
from  the  Lord.” 

As  the  wife  of  the  prophet  bore  children,  the  Lord 
took  the  privilege  of  naming  them,  and  in  each  name 
uttered  a  prophecy. 

When  the  first  daughter  was  born,  “God  said  unto 
him,  Call  her  name  Lo-ruhamah  (which  means,  not 
having  obtained  mercy),  for  I  will  no  more  have  mercy 
upon  the  house  of  Israel ;  but  I  will  utterly  take  them 
away.  But  I  will  have  mercy  upon  the  house  of 
Judah.”  (Hosea  1:6,  7.) 

“Now  when  she  (the  prophet’s  wife)  had  weaned 
Lo-ruhamah,  she  conceived  and  bare  a  son.  Then  said 
God,  Call  his  name  Lo-ammi  (which  means,  not  my 
people),  for  ye  are  not  my  people,  and  I  will  not  be 
your  God.  Yet  the  number  of  the  children  of  Israel 
shall  be  as  the  sands  of  the  sea,  which  cannot  be  meas¬ 
ured  nor  numbered — and  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  in 
the  place  where  it  was  said  unto  them  Ye  are  not  my 
people,  there  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  Ye  are  the 
sons  of  the  Living  God.”  (Hosea  1  :  8-10.)  Beloved, 
do  you  catch  the  wonderful  meaning  to  all  this  ?  Look  ! 
The  name  of  the  newborn  son  is  Lo-ammi,  for  God 


128  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

refuses  any  longer  to  be  the  God  of  that  people  among 
whom  the  child  is  born ;  he  casts  them  off  and  forsakes 
them. 

“Yet” — O  do  you  see  the  immutability  of  the  prom¬ 
ise  of  the  covenant-making  and  covenant-keeping  Je¬ 
hovah,  who  after  making  an  unconditional  promise 
must  keep  it,  even  if  some  conditions  do  change  ?  God 
has  said  it.  He  cannot  lie ;  with  him  there  is  “no  vari¬ 
ableness  nor  shadow  of  turning.”  He  has  promised 
Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  that  their  seed  shall  become 
“many  nations.”  “I  will  make  thy  seed  to  multiply  as 
the  stars  of  heaven.”  “I  will  make  thee  fruitful  and 
multiply  thee.”  “Thy  seed  shall  be  as  the  dust  of  the 
earth,  and  thou  shalt  spread  abroad  to  the  west,  and 
to  the  east,  and  to  the  north,  and  to  the  south.”  And 
then  he  told  Joseph  that  all  these  promises  should  be 
fulfilled  in  his  sons,  at  that  same  time  making  Ephraim 
his  first-born.  Then  in  due  time  he  separated  the 
Sceptre  and  the  Birthright,  causing  all  the  tribes  to 
gather  under  the  one  or  the  other,  making  two  king¬ 
doms  of  the  entire  Abrahamic  posterity,  saying,  “This 
thing  is  of  me.” 

Butt  now  “Ephraim-Israel  is  joined  to  his  idols.” 
“They  are  not  my  people,”  “I  will  not  be  their  God,” 
“I  cast  them  out” ;  and  “yet”  in  spite  of  this,  and  al¬ 
though  driven  from  home  by  their  enemies,  “yet  the 
number  of  the  children  of  Israel  shall  be  as  the  sands 
of  the  sea,  which  cannot  be  numbered.”  This  language 
proves  that,  although  cast  off,  they  must  still  increase 
and  fulfill  their  God-appointed  destiny  by  growing  into 
a  multitude  of  people  in  the  midst  of  the  earth,  and 
in  due  time  become  a  great  nation  or  a  company  of 


Joseph-Israel  Lost 


129 


nations.  Also,  the  words  which  immediately  follow 
these  show  that,  while  in  that  cast-out  condition,  and 
while  developing  into  their  destiny  as  regards  mul¬ 
tiplicity,  they  will  become  lost,  so  lost  that  they  them¬ 
selves  will  not  know  who  they  are.  For  it  shall  come 
to  pass  that,  in  the  place  where  they  go,  they  will  be 
told  that  they  are  not  the  people  of  God,  that  they  are 
not  Jacob’s  seed,  that  they  are  not  Israel,  as  at  the  time 
of  the  casting  off  they  knew  themselves  to  be.  And 
when  they  are  told  that  they  are  not  the  people  of  God 
they  shall  have  so  forgotten  their  origin,  that  they  will 
believe  it.  This  being  the  case,  they  certainly  will  be 
LOST,  at  least  to  themselves,  and  will  need  some  one 
to  prove  to  them  that  they  are  the  descendants  of  God’s 
chosen  people.  So,  when  the  time  comes,  the  Lord 
has  said  that  those  persons  shall  be  there,  and  shall  say 
unto  them:  “Ye  are  the  sons  of  the  Living  God.” 

While  Israel  was  true  to  the  Lord,  she  was  likened 
to  a  delicate  and  comely  woman,  and  the  Lord  called 
her  his  wife ;  but  when  she  became  an  idolatrous  na¬ 
tion,  she  was  called  a  harlot,  and  the  Lord  treated  her 
as  a  woman  who  had  broken  wedlock,  by  giving  her  a 
bill  of  divorce.  After  the  Lord  has  “cast  her  out  of 
his  sight,”  and  allowed  her  to  be  carried  away  into  the 
Assyrian  captivity,  she  is  spoken  of  in  prophecy  as 
“forsaken,”  a  woman  in  “widowhood,”  “a  wife  of 
youth,”  “refused,”  “barren”  and  “desolate.” 

But  the  Lord  made  a  promise  of  redemption  to  that 
same  desolate  one,  saying:  “Thou  shalt  forget  the 
shame  of  thy  youth  and  shalt  not  remember  the  re¬ 
proach  of  thy  widowhood  any  more.  For  thy  Maker  is 
thy  husband  (once  more),  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is  his 


130  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

name ;  and  thy  Redeemer  the  Holy  One  of  Israel ;  the 
God  of  the  whole  earth  shall  be  called.  For  the 
Lord  hath  called  thee  as  a  woman  forsaken  and  grieved 
in  spirit,  and  a  wife  of  youth,  when  thou  wast  refused, 
saith  thy  God.  For  a  small  moment  have  I  forsaken 
thee,  but  with  great  mercies  will  I  gather  thee.”  (Isa. 
54:4-7-) 

You  will  also  find  by  consulting  this  same  chapter 
that,  while  barren,  forsaken,  and  desolate,  this  same 
woman  was  to  become  the  mother  of  more  children 
than  while  married,  or,  in  other  words,  Israel  was  to 
increase  while  cast  out  more  than  before.  This  is 
exactly  what  the  prophet  Hosea  has  declared  in  the 
prophecy  which  we  have  been  considering. 

The  Lord  further  uses  Hosea  to  teach  that  Israel 
would  become  lost  after  being  cast  out  in  the  follow¬ 
ing:  “For  she  said:  I  will  go  after  my  lovers  (‘Israel 
is  swallowed  up :  now  shall  they  be  among  the  Gentiles 
as  a  vessel  wherein  is  no  pleasure,  for  they  are  gone 
up  to  Assyria,  a  wild  ass  alone  by  himself :  Ephraim 
hath  hired  lovers’),  that  give  me  my  bread  and  my 
water,  my  wool  and  my  flax,  mine  oil  and  my  drink. 
Therefore,  behold,  I  will  hedge  up  thy  way  with 
thorns,  and  make  a  wall,  that  SHE  SHALL  NOT 
FIND  HER  PATHS.”  (Hosea  8 : 8,  9 ;  2 :  5,  6.) 

To  show  that  the  Scriptures,  which  we  have  just 
quoted,  refer  to  Israel,  aside  from  the  Jews,  we  call 
your  attention  to  the  opening  words  of  the  chapter  in 
which  the  non-parenthetical,  or  enclosing  text  appears, 
which  is  as  follows :  “Say  ye  unto  your  brethren  Ammi, 


Joseph-Israel  Lost 


131 

and  to  your  sisters,  Ruhamah.  Plead  with  your  mother, 
plead !  for  she  is  not  my  wife,  neither  am  I  her  hus¬ 
band.” 

When  God  gave  to  Israel  the  name  of  Lo-ammi,  or 
not  my  people,  it  was  because  he  had  cast  them  off,  and 
they  were  no  longer  his  people.  For  when  the  Lord 
gives  a  name  to  a  person,  or  a  nation,  he  names  them  in 
harmony  with  their  character  or  condition.  But  while 
it  is  true  that  Israel  was  not  at  that  time  the  people  of 
God,  it  is  true  that  Judah  was  then  ruling  with  him, 
and  was  counted  among  the  faithful ;  hence,  they  were 
Ammi,  or  the  people  of  God. 

Also  when  God  gave  to  Israel  the  name  of  Lo-ru- 
hamah,  the  meaning  of  which  is,  not  having  obtained 
mercy,  he  did  so  because  that  name  was  characteristic 
of  his  attitude  toward  them,  at  that  time,  for  he  de¬ 
clared  that  he  would  no  longer  have  mercy  upon  them, 
but  would  cast  them  out.  But  at  that  same  time  he  said, 
“I  will  have  mercy  upon  the  house  of  Judah.”  So,  if 
Israel  was  Lo-ruhamah,  the  one  not  having  obtained 
mercy,  then  Judah  was  Ruhamah,  the  one  which  ob¬ 
tained  mercy.  For  that  word  “Lo”  is  the  Hebrew  neg¬ 
ative,  and,  in  the  Scriptures  under  consideration,  the 
words  Ammi,  Lo-ammi,  Ruhamah,  and  Lo-ruhamah 
are  Hebrew  words  which  are  transferred,  but  not 
translated. 

These  things  being  true,  it  is  clear  that  the  brethren 
Ammi,  and  their  sisters  Ruhamah,  who  are  exhorted 
to  plead,  are  the  Jews  and  Jewesses  of  the  kingdom  of 
Judah.  It  is  they  who  are  exhorted  to  plead  with  their 
mother,  i.  e.,  to  plead  with  that  out  from  which  they 
came,  namely:  THE  KINGDOM  OF  ISRAEL. 


132  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Yes,  Israel,  she  of  whom  the  Lord  hath  said :  “She 
is  not  my  wife,  neither  am  I  her  husband;”  she,  the 
woman  of  whoredom :  she,  the  woman  who  had  broken 
wedlock ;  she,  who  had  run  after  hired  lovers ;  she,  who 
asked  counsel  of  cattle  and  stone  images ;  she,  who  was 
joined  to  Jeroboam’s  calves,  and  of  whom,  after  she 
was  sent  adrift,  the  Lord  said  that  he  would  hedge  up 
her  way,  and  make  a  wall,  “that  she  shall  not  find  her 
paths,”  i.  e.,  lost. 

The  Lord  further  declares,  “When  Ephraim  spake 
trembling  he  exalted  himself  in  Israel;  but  when  he 
offended  in  Baal  he  died.  And  now  they  sin  more  and 
more,  and  have  made  them  molten  images  of  their  sil¬ 
ver,  and  idols  according  to  their  own  understanding,  all 
of  it  the  work  of  craftsmen ;  they  say  of  them,  Let  the 
men  who  sacrifice  kiss  the  calves.  Therefore  they  shall 
be  as  the  morning  cloud,  and  as  the  early  dew  that  pass- 
eth  away,  as  the  chaff  that  is  driven  with  the  whirlwind 
out  of  the  floor,  and  as  the  smoke  out  of  the  chimney.” 
(Hosea  13 : 1-3.) 

After  the  smoke  out  of  a  chimney  has  disappeared, 
after  the  sun  has  risen  and  scattered  the  morning 
cloud,  after  the  dew  has  been  drawn  from  leaf  and 
blade,  and  passed  away — if  we  were  to  ask  you  to 
hunt  that  scattered  cloud,  to  search  for  that  smoke,  and 
find  again  that  dew,  we  are  certain  you  would  be  will¬ 
ing  to  admit  that  they  were  lost.  This  is  certainly 
what  the  Lord  intends  us  to  understand  concerning  the 
kingdom  known  as  Israel,  for  subsequent  to  this,  and 
yet  prior  to  the  time  when  the  Jews  went  into  the  Baby¬ 
lonian  captivity,  he  declares,  through  Jeremiah  the 
prophet,  “My  people  have  been  lost  sheep.” 


Joseph-Israel  Lost 


133 


Ezekiel  not  only  corroborates  these  prophets,  but  he 
visited  Israel  about  twelve  years  before  Nebuchad¬ 
nezzar  destroyed  Jerusalem  and  took  the  Jews  to  Baby¬ 
lon.  He  says,  “As  I  was  among  the  captives  by  the 
river  of  Chebar,  the  heavens  were  opened,  and  I  saw 
visions  of  God.”  (Ezek.  1:1.)  You  will  find  by  con¬ 
sulting  the  map  that  this  river  Chebar  is  in  the  same 
region  of  country  with  Habor,  Halah  and  the  river 

Gozan,  where  the  Israelites  were  deported  by  Shalman¬ 
eser,  king  of  Assyria.  In  fact,  the  rivers  Gozan  and 
Halah  empty  into  the  Chebar,  which,  in  turn,  empties 
into  the  Euphrates.  Chebar,  Chabor,  Habor,  Kebah 
and  Heber  are  only  different  forms  of  the  same  word. 

Ezekiel  continues  and  says,  'Then  I  came  to  them  of 
the  captivity  at  Tel-abib,  that  dwelt  by  the  river  of  Che¬ 
bar,  and  I  sat  where  they  sat,  and  remained  there 
astonished  among  them  seven  days.  And  it  came  to 
pass  at  the  end  of  seven  days,  that  the  Lord  came  unto 
me,  saying.  Son  of  man,  I  have  made  thee  a  watchman 
unto  the  house  of  Israel.”  (Ezek.  5:15,  17.)  Then 
after  speaking  of  many  who  should  be  destroyed  by 
sword,  famine  and  pestilence  because  of  their  abomin¬ 
ations,  how  that  he  would  scatter  .their  bones  round 
about  the  altars  of  their  idols,  he  says :  "Yet  will  I 
leave  a  remnant,  that  ye  may  have  some  that  shall 
escape  the  sword  among  the  nations,  when  he  shall  be 
scattered  through  the  countries.  And  they  that  es¬ 
cape  of  you  shall  remember  me  among  the  nations 
whither  they  shall  be  carried.”  (Ezek.  6:8,  9.) 

Again,  the  offended  God  of  Israel  uses  Ezekiel  to 
declare,  "I  will  scatter  thee  among  the  heathen  and 
disperse  thee  in  the  countries,  and  will” — What?  De- 


134  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

stroy  them?  No,  but — “consume  thy  filthiness  out  of 
thee.”  (Ezek.  22:  15.)  After  this,  the  Lord  declares 
this  dispersion  to  have  been  accomplished,  saying :  “I 
scattered  them  among  the  heathen  and  they  were  dis¬ 
persed  through  the  countries:  *  *  *  and  when 

they  entered  into  the  heathen,  whither  they  went,  they 
profaned  my  holy  name,  when  they  said  to  them,  These 
are  the  people  of  the  Lord,  and  are  gone  forth  out  of 
his  land.  But  I  had  pity  for  mine  holy  name,  which 
the  house  of  Israel  had  profaned  among  the  heathen, 
whither  they  went.  Therefore  say  unto  the  house  of 
Israel,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  do  not  this  for  your 
sakes,  O  house  of  Israel,  but  for  mine  holy  name’s 
sake,  which  ye  have  profaned  among  the  heathen, 
whither  ye  went.  And  I  will  sanctify  my  great  name, 
*  *  *  and  the  heathen  shall  know  that  I  am  the 

Lord  God,  when  I  shall  be  sanctified  in  you  before  their 
eyes.  For  I  will  take  you  from  among  the  heathen, 
and  gather  you  out  of  all  countries,  and  bring  you  into 
your  own  land.”  (Ezek.  36:  19-24.) 

The  Jews  were  taken  into  Babylon  and  returned 
from  thence ;  but  the  house  of  Israel,  as  herein  stated, 
was  scattered  throughout  all  countries.  But  for  the 
vindication  of  his  holy  name,  he  declared  that  he  should 
yet  be  sanctified  in  the  eyes  of  all  nations,  by  saving 
Israel  and  bringing  them  back  to  their  own  land.  When 

this  takes  place,  Israel  shall  come  out  from  all  coun¬ 
tries. 

In  two  of  these  quotations  they  are  called,  “The 
dispersed.”  This  will  enable  us  to  understand  Zeph. 


Joseph-Israel  Lost 


135 


3:  10 — “From  beyond  the  rivers  of  Ethiopia,  my  sup¬ 
pliants,  even  the  daughter  of  my  dispersed ,  shall  bring 
mine  offering.'’ 

Since  we  understand  that  “the  dispersed’’  are  the 
ten  tribes,  which  composed  the  Birthright  kingdom, 
we  comprehend  the  grave  import  of  the  question  asked 
by  the  chief  man  of  Judah  in  the  following:  “When 
the  Pharisees  heard  that  the  people  murmured  such 
things  concerning  him ;  and  the  Pharisees  and  the  chief 
priests  sent  officers  to  take  him.  Then  Jesus  said  unto 
them,  Yet  a  little  while  am  I  with  you,  and  then  I  go 
unto  him  that  sent  me.  Ye  shall  seek  me  and  shall  not 
find  me:  and  where  I  am,  thither  ye  cannot  come. 
Then  said  the  Jews  among  themselves,  Whither  will  he 
go  that  we  cannot  find  him?  “Will  he  go  unto  the 
dispersed  among  the  Gentiles  ?”  (John  7:  32-35.) 

This  very  question  reveals  the  fact  that  the  Jews 
knew  that  the  ten  tribes  were  dispersed  among  the 
nations,  and  that  they  did  not  know  where  they  were ; 
hence,  that  they  could  not  go  to  them.  They  also 
comprehended  the  fact  that,  if  this  man  called  Christ 
should  prove  to  be  the  long-expected  Messiah,  he  did 
know  where  the  lost  people  were,  and  could  go  to  them. 
It  is  also  an  admission,  from  the  chief  men  of  Judah, 
that  a  portion  of  the  race  were  lost. 

Isaac  Leeser,  an  eminent  Jewish  scholar,  who  trans¬ 
lated  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  for  the  English  speaking 
Jews,  says  in  his  great  work,  “The  Jewish  Religion,’’ 
Vol.  I,  page  256 :  “Let  us  observe  that  by  this  return 
of  the  captives  (from  Babylon)  the  Israelitish  nation 
was  not  restored ;  since  the  ten  tribes,  who  had  for¬ 
merly  composed  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  were  yet  left  in 


136  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

banishment ;  and  to  this  day  the  researches  of  travelers 
and  wise  men  have  not  been  able  to  trace  their  fate.” 

Micah,  also,  falls  into  exact  line  with  the  rest  of  the 
prophets,  for  through  him  the  Lord  declares :  “I  will 
surely  assemble,  O  Jacob,  all  of  thee ;  I  will  surely 
gather  the  remnant  of  Israel ;  I  will  put  them  together 

as  the  sheep  of  Bozrah,  as  the  flock  in  the  midst  of 
their  fold,  they  shall  make  great  noise  by  reason  of  the 
multitude  of  men.  The  breaker  is  come  up  before 
them :  they  have  broken  up,  and  passed  through  the 
gate,  and  are  gone  out  by  it ;  and  their  king  shall  pass 
before  them,  and  the  Lord  on  the  head  of  them.” 
(Micah  2:12,  13.) 

The  reason  the  Lord  says  that  he  will  assemble  and 
put  them  together  is,  that,  prior  to  the  time  when  Shal¬ 
maneser  took  the  main  body  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel 
into  Assyria,  it  seems  that  a  former  king  (Tiglath-Pi- 
leser)  had  taken  the  Reubenites,  the  Gadites,  a  portion 
of  Naphtali,  and  one  of  the  half  tribes  of  Manasseh, 
“And  brought  them  unto  Halah,  and  Habor  and  Hara, 
and  to  the  river  Gozan.”  Later,  the  rest  of  the  ten 
tribes  were  brought  to  this  same  region. 

As  we  have  already  noted,  the  last  that  Josephus 
knew  concerning  the  ten  tribes,  is  that  they  were  be¬ 
yond  the  river  Euphrates.  This  river  rises  at  the  foot 
of  Mount  Ararat,  up  in  the  Caucasian  Pass,  between 
the  Black  and  Caspian  seas.  Israel,  making  a  great 
noise  because  of  the  multitude,  went  out  through  this 
pass,  or  gate,  or  entrance. 

What  is  meant  by  the  king  passing  on  before  them 
is  explained  later. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


JOSEPH-ISRAEL  LOST — (CONTINUED). 

If  it  could  be  proved  that  Israel  returned  with  Judah 
from  the  Babylonish  captivity,  it  would  only  prove  that 
her  prophetic  history  was  not  fulfilled,  and  that  those 
prophets  which  both  Jews  and  Christians  have  reecived 
as  the  true  prophets  of  God,  are  but  lying  prophets. 
For  Jeremiah  also  has  given  utterance  -to  prophetic 
sayings  which  are  in  full  accord  with  those  of  the 
prophets  already  quoted,  and  which  cover  the  same 
ground,  but  give  additional  facts.  As  in  the  follow¬ 
ing: 

“Therefore  will  I  cast  you  out  of  this  land,  into  a 
land  that  ye  know  not,  neither  ye  nor  your  fathers, 
and  there  shall  ye  serve  other  gods  day  and  night ; 
where  I  will  not  show  you  favor.  Therefore,  behold, 
the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  it  shall  no  more  be 

said,  The  Lord  liveth,  that  brought  up  the  children  of 
Israel  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt ;  but,  The  Lord  liveth, 
that  brought  the  children  of  Israel  from  the  land  of 
the  north,  and  from  all  the  lands  whither  he  had  driven 
them :  and  I  will  bring  them  again  unto  their  land  that 
I  gave  unto  their  fathers. 

“Behold  I  will  send  for  many  fishers,  saith  the  Lord, 
and  they  shall  fish  for  them;  and  after  I  will  send  many 
hunters,  and  they  shall  hunt  them  from  every  mountain, 
and  from  every  hill,  and  from  out  of  the  holes  of  the 
rocks.  For  mine  eyes  are  upon  all  their  ways :  they  are 


138  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

not  hid  from  my  face,  neither  is  their  iniquity  hid  from 
mine  eyes.  And  first  I  will  recompense  their  iniquity 
and  their  sin  double ;  because  they  have  defiled 
my  land,  they  have  filled  mine  inheritance  with 
the  carcasses  of  their  detestable  and  abominable 
things.  O  Lord,  my  strength  and  my  fortress,  and 
my  refuge  in  the  day  of  affliction,  the  Gentiles  shall 
come  unto  thee  from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  shall 
say,  Surely  our  fathers  have  inherited  lies,  vanity,  and 
things  wherein  there  is  no  profit.  Shall  a  man  make 
gods  unto  himself,  and  they  are  no  gods?  Therefore, 
behold,  I  will  this  once  cause  them  to  know.  I  will 
cause  them  to  know  mine  hand  and  my  might ;  and  they 
shall  know  that  thy  name  is  the  Lord.”  ( Jer.  16 :  13-21.) 

We  have  given  the  above  quotation  in  full  and  at 
length,  because,  as  a  prophecy,  it  contains  the  facts  of 
the  casting  out  and  return  of  Israel,  together  with  a 
brief  epitome  of  their  history  while  thus  cast  out.  Let 
us  notice  them : 

(1)  "I  will  cast  you  out  of  this  land.”  We  know 
that  they  were  taken  into  Assyria. 

(2)  "Into  a  land  that  ye  know  not.”  They  were 
not  to  remain  in  Assyria. 

(3)  "Neither  ye  nor  your  fathers.”  A  land  un¬ 
known  to  the  entire  race,  and  as  they  were  among  the 
most,  if  not  the  most,  civilized  nations  on  the  earth,  we 
are  safe  in  saying  that  it  was  to  be  a  long  way  from 
their  home ;  that  they  were  to  move  on  through  the 
nations  until  they  came  into  unknown  regions,  into  the 
uninhabited,  unexplored  wilderness  beyond  the  pales 
of  civilization. 


Joseph-Israel  Lost 


139 


(4)  “And  there  shall  ye  serve  other  gods  day  and 
night/’  They  can  then  and  there  get  their  fill  of  idol¬ 
atry. 

(5)  “I  will  not  show  you  favor,”  i.  e.,  not  ease 
their  punishment,  until,  as  he  says,  he  has  first  recom¬ 
pensed  “their  iniquity  and  their  sin  double;  because 
they  have  defiled  my  land,  they  have  filled  mine  inher¬ 
itance  with  the  carcasses  of  their  detestable  and  abom¬ 
inable  things,”  i.  e.,  Jeroboam’s  calves,  Ahab’s  image 
of  Baal,  Moloch,  etc. 

(6)  When  he  says  that  he  will  not  show  them 
favor,  the  context  proves  that  he  means  for  a  certain 
season  or  period.  For  he  says,  I  will  bring  them  again 
into  their  land,  i.  e.,  the  Samaritan  portion  of  Pales¬ 
tine. 

(7)  “I  will  send  for  many  (Hebrew,  rab — abun¬ 
dant,  enough,  plenteous,  a  multitude)  fishers.”  Jesus 
said  to  his  disciples,  “I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men.” 

He  came  to  his  own  tribal  house,  Judah,  but  his  own 
received  him  not,  and  then  he  said  unto  them :  “Your 

house  is  left  unto  you  desolate.”  But  he  said  to  his 
fishers,  “Go  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  HOUSE  of  Israel.” 
Six  hundred  and  thirty  years  prior  to  this,  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years  after  Israel  had  been  cast  out,  and 
before  the  house  of  Judah  were  taken  to  Babylon,  God 
had  said  through  the  mouth  of  Jeremiah,  “My  people 
hath  been  lost  sheep:  their  shepherds  (their  priests, 
who  were  of  the  lowest  type  of  the  people)  have  caused 
them  to  go  astray,  they  have  turned  them  away  on  the 
mountains ;  they  have  gone  from  mountain  to  hill 
(wandering),  they  have  forgotten  their  resting  place,” 
i.  e.,  their  home. 


140  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

(8)  “And  they  shall  fish  them.”  These  gospel  fish¬ 
ers  of  men  are  successful.  Lost  Israel  takes  the  bait 
and  is  fished.  Hallelujah! 

All  this  is  in  harmony  with  the  prophetic  history  of 
Israel,  as  read  by  the  other  prophets.  For  when 
Hosea  is  being  used  to  prophesy  concerning  Israel  be¬ 
ing  hedged  in  with  walls  and  thorns,  and  losing  her 
paths,  the  Lord  further  adds,  “Behold  I  will  allure  her, 
and  bring  her  into  the  wilderness ,  and  speak  comfort¬ 
ably  (marginal  reading:  speak  friendly  to  her  heart) 
unto  her.  And  it  shall  be  in  that  day  saith  the  Lord 
that  thou  shalt  call  me  Ishi  (my  husband)  and  shall 
call  me  no  more  Baali  (my  master).  For  I  will  take 
the  names  of  Baalim  (plural  of  Baal)  out  of  her 
mouth,  and  they  shall  no  more  be  remembered  by  their 
names.”  (Hosea  2  :  14,  16,  17.)  Is  it  any  wonder  that 
this  same  prophet  declares,  “Ephraim  shall  say,  What 
have  I  to  do  any  more  with  idols?”  (Hosea  14:  8.) 

Concerning  this  fact  of  Israel’s  receiving  the  gospel 
while  cast  out:  “Thus  saith  the  Lord,  The  people 
which  were  left  of  the  sword  found  grace  in  the  wilder¬ 
ness;  even  Israel.”  (Jer.  31:2.)  The  law  came  by 
Moses,  but  grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ. 
Hence  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel  receive 
the  gospel  blessings  because  of  the  fishers  which  are 
sent  to  them. 

(9)  “And  after  (that)  I  will  send  for  many  hun¬ 
ters,  and  they  shall  hunt  them.”  The  violent  protest 
of  our  brother,  from  whose  commentary  we  quoted  on 
a  former  occasion,  is  prima-facie  evidence  that  this 
prophecy  concerning  the  hunting  for  them  has  been, 
and  is  being,  fulfilled ;  it  is  as  follows :  “Hence,  all  of 


Joseph-Israel  Lost 


141 

this  hue  and  cry  about  the  lost  tribes,  ransacking  all  the 
world  to  find  them,  and  writing  vast  volumes,  is  a 
piece  of  twaddle  and  nonsense.  Thousands  of  people 
are  now  studying  (Glory  to  God!)  great  books  (Thank 
God  for  them!)  which  claim  to  identify  the  dost 
tribes/”  Amen!  and  amen!  For  God  says:  “They 
shall  hunt  for  them.” 

Another  of  those  who  object  to  so  much  hunting, 
Rawlinson,  has  unwittingly  proved  this  prophecy  to 
have  been  fulfilled,  for  he  says:  “They  (the  ten  tribes) 
have  been  found  a  hundred  times  in  a  hundred  different 
localities.”  This  proves  that  the  Lord,  in  order  that 
his  word  of  truth  might  be  fulfilled,  has,  to  say  the 
least,  raised  up  one  hundred  hunters.  Had  Prof.  Raw¬ 
linson  said,  “They  were  supposed  to  have  been  found 
a  hundred  times  in  a  hundred  different  localities,”  we 

(could  not  doubt  that  his  statement  was  true.  For  it 
is  true  that  thousands  are  studying,  and  writing,  and 
ransacking  the  world,  to  find  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel  ; 

Iand  the  prophecy  concerning  the  hunters  and  the 
hunted,  stands  vindicated,  albeit  many  have  hunted  in 
vain. 

Otherwise,  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  one 
of  the  holy  men  who  was  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
write  the  Bible  was  jesting,  when  he  wrote  concerning 
a  corps  of  men  who  should  become  hunters  of  that 
which  was  not  lost.  And  since  God  has  furnished  the 
hunters, — for  it  is  by  reading  his  Word  that  they  be¬ 
come  inspired  to  hunt, — we  would  be  forced  to  conclude 
that  he  would  play,  or  juggle,  with  the  credulity  of  the 
human  race. 


142  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

(io)  It  is  evident  from  the  declaration,  “They  are 
not  hid  from  my  face,"  that  the  people  in  question  were 
hid  from  others.  Else,  why  should  the  Lord  say  that 
they  were*not  hid  from  him  ? 

“If  they  were  not  hid  from  the  Lord,  who  were  they 
hid  from?" 

We  answer— THE  HUNTERS. 

(u)  The  nineteenth  verse  relates  to  Gentiles  who 
shall  come  unto  the  Lord,  from  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
The  Hebrew  word  (Goy)  which  is  here  translated 
Gentiles,  is  often  translated,  nations,  people,  tribes, 
and,  far  away  people.  God  had  told  Israel  that  he 
would  cast  them  afar  off,  and  in  Jer.  i :  io  this  same 
Hebrew  word  is  translated  nations.  In  Jer.  31:9, 
while  speaking  to  Joseph-Ephraim-Samaria-Israel,  the 
Lord  says :  “I  am  a  father  to  Israel,  and  Ephraim  is 
my  first-born.  Hear  the  word  of  -the  Lord,  O  ye  na¬ 
tions  (Goy),  and  declare  it  in  the  isles  afar  off,  and 
say,  He  that  scattered  Israel  will  gather  him." 

(12)  And  in  this  prophecy  which  we  are  consider¬ 
ing,  we  are  told  that  these  nations  shall  yet  come 
“from  the  ends  of  the  earth,"  and  say:  “Surely  our 
fathers  have  inherited  lies." 

How  so? 

Do  not  forget,  Hosea  has  prophesied  concerning  the 
same  people,  saying  that  in  the  place  where  it  shall  be 
said  unto  them,  “Ye  are  Lo-ammi,  or  not  the  people  of 

God,"  there  it  shall  be  said  unto  them  “Ammi,"  or  “Ye 
are  the  sons  of  the  living  God."  These  people  shall 
return  to  their  home  and  to  their  Lord,  who  will  be 
there  about  the  time  they  get  there.  And  they  shall 


Joseph-Israel  Lost  143 

say:  “  We  have  inherited  lies,  for  we  have  been  told 
that  we  were  not  the  seed  of  Abraham,  but  now  we 
know  that  we,  too,  have  Abraham  as  our  father.” 

(13)  Then,  saith  the  Lord,  “I  will  cause  them  to 
know  mine  hand,  and  my  might;  and  they  shall  know 
that  my  name  is  the  Lord,  i.  e.,  Jehovah. 

So  we  find  that  while  Israel  was  taken  into  Assyria 
they  were  not  to  stay  there,  but  were  to  wander  into  an 
unknown  country,  called  the  wilderness ;  and  that 
eventually,  when  they  have  fulfilled  their  destiny  by  be¬ 
coming  “many  nations,”  the  head  of  the  nations  is  in 
the  isles  of  the  sea,  and  that  the  Lord  is  to  gather  them 
from  there.  So  it  is  evident  that  the  school  of  teachers, 
who  say  that  Israel  returned  with  Judah  from  Babylon, 
do  not  know  where  the  Birthright  kingdom  is,  thus 
making  it  quite  clear  that  they  are  lost  even  to  those 
who  say  that  there  is  no  lost  Israel. 

The  above  facts  are  in  harmony  with  still  other  au¬ 
thentic  history  as  contained  in  the  apocryphal  book  of 
Ezra,  i.  e.,  Esdras.  Mind  you,  we  do  not  assert  that  this 
book  is  inspired,  although  there  are  thousands  who,  with 
ourselves,  believe  it  is.  But  we  give  it  simply  as  corrob¬ 
orative  history.  Esdras  had  seen  a  vision  in  which 
there  were  two  companies,  one  a  warlike  and  the  other 
a  peaceful  company.  The  declared  explanation  of  the 
peaceful  company  is  as  follows :  “Whereas  thou  sawest 
that  he  gathered  another  peaceful  company,  those  are 
the  ten  tribes,  which  were  carried  away  prisoners  out 
of  their  own  land  in  the  time  of  Hosea,  the  king  whom 
Shalmanesar,the  king  of  Assyria,  led  away  captive  ;  and 
he  carried  them  away  so  they  came  into  another  land. 
But  they  took  counsel  among  themselves,  that  they 


144  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

would  leave  the  multitude  of  the  heathen,  and  go  forth 
into  a  further  country,  where  never  mankind  dwelt, 
that  they  might  keep  their  statutes,  which  they  never 
kept  in  their  own  land.  And  they  entered  into  Eu¬ 
phrates  by  the  narrow  passage  (the  gate)  of  the  river. 
For  the  Most  High  then  showed  signs  for  them,  and 
held  still  the  flood  till  they  were  passed  over,  for 
through  that  country  there  was  a  great  way  to  go, 
namely,  a  year  and  a  half.  And  the  same  region  is 
called  Asaareth  (Margin:  Ararat h,  same  as  Ararat 
or  Armenia,  which  are  only  different  forms  of  the  same 
word).  Then  they  dwelt  there  until  the  latter  time, 
and  now  when  they  shall  begin  to  come,  the  Highest 
shall  stay  the  springs  of  the  streams  again,  that  they 
may  go  through :  therefore  sawest  thou  the  multitude 

with  peace.”  (2  Esdras  13  :39'47-) 

Every  statement  made  in  this  extract  is  corroborated 

by  unquestioned  canonical  writings,  as  we  have  shown, 
except  one ;  and  Isaiah  settles  that  one  as  follows .  The 
Lord  shall  utterly  destroy  the  tongue  of  the  Egyptian 
sea ;  and  with  his  mighty  wind  shall  he  shake  his 
hand  over  the  river,  and  shall  smite  it  in  the  seven 
streams,  and  make  men  go  over  dry  shod.  And  there 
shall  be  an  highway  for  the  remnant  of  his  people 
which  shall  be  left  from  Assyria —like  as  it  was  in  the 
day  that  he  came  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  (Isa. 
2:  15,  16.) 

Mind  you,  he  does  not  say  that  they  shall  come  from 
Assyria ;  he  is  speaking  of  the  remnant  of  his  people 
which  are  left  from  Assyria,  i.  e.,  the  Assyrian  cap¬ 
tivity.  The  tongue  of  the  Egyptian  sea  is  not  en  route 
from  either  Babylon  or  Assyria.  The  tongue  of  the 


145 


Joseph-Israel  Lost 

Egyptian  sea  is  a  tongue  of  the  Red  sea,  and  the  river 
with  seven  streams,  mouths,  or  delta,  is  the  river  Nile, 
which  waters  Egypt ;  and  these  are  in  a  direction  from 
Palestine  which  is  diametrically  opposite  to  that  of 
Assyria  and  Babylon. 

After  all,  it  is  not  so  much  a  question  of  the  lost 
ten  tribes,  for  some  out  of  all  the  tribes  returned  to 
the  kingdom  of  Judah,  in  the  days  of  Rehoboam,  the 
first  king  of  Judah.  This  is  no  doubt  the  reason  that 
the  Jews,  upon  their  return  from  Babylon,  offered  the 
twelve  bullocks  for  all  Israel,  as  a  burnt  offering  unto 
the  Lord.  But  it  is  a  question  of  the  lost  house  of 
Joseph,  that  is,  THE  LOST  BIRTHRIGHT.  The 
Jews,  although  denationalized  and  scattered  every¬ 
where,  have  never  been  lost ;  but,  as  foretold,  they  have 
always  been  so  “well  known”  that  they  have  become 
a  by-word  ;  consequently,  they  have  never  been  hunt¬ 
ed  for.  But  there  is  a  prophecy  in  the  Psalms  con¬ 
cerning  a  people  by  the  name  of  Israel,  who  are  spoken 
of  as  the  hidden  people  of  the  Lord,  and  whom  he  is 
called  upon  to  defend  from  their  enemies.  Of  these  it 
is  declared :  “They  have  taken  crafty  counsel  against 
thy  people  and  consulted  against  THY  HIDDEN 
ONES.  They  have  said,  come,  and  let  us  cut  them  off 
from  being  a  nation;  that  the  name  ISRAEL  may  be 
no  more  in  remembrance. ”  (Psa.  83:3,  4.) 

Hence,  there  is  a  people  who  bear  the  name  of  Israel, 
which,  as  we  have  learned,  is  the  name  of  the  birth¬ 
right  nation,  which  if  it  is  not  now  hid,  has  in  the 
past  been  hid  from  all  except  the  Omnipotent  One. 


* 


PART  SECOND. 


THE  SCEPTRE;  OR,  THE  PROMISE  OF  A 
PERPETUATED  HOUSE,  THRONE, 
AND  KINGDOM  TO  DAVID. 


“OUGHT  ye  not  to  know  that  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  gave 
the  kingdom  over  Israel  to  David  for  ever,  even  to  him  and 
to  his  sons  by  a  covenant  if  salt?” 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  SCEPTRE,  AND  THE  DAVIDIC  COVENANT. 

There  is  no  question,  with  those  who  have  fol¬ 
lowed  us  thus  far,  that  the  Birthright  people  have  been 
cast  out  into  an  unknown  and  far-away  country,  which, 
when  they  entered,  was  an  uninhabited  and  unex¬ 
plored  wilderness.  While  Israel  has  been  exploring, 
pioneering  and  settling  this  wilderness,  the  Lord  has 
so  hedged  up  their  way  that  they  can  find  neither  the 
paths  by  which  they  came  nor  the  place  from  whence 
they  came. 

Although  lost,  in  so  far  as  their  national  identity  is 
concerned,  they  are  in  the  place  where  the  Lord  has 
said  they  shall  find  grace,  and  where  he  has  promised 
to  speak  comforting  words  to  their  hearts — in  the  wil¬ 
derness. 

There  we  will  leave  them  to  fulfill  their  appointed 
destiny  of  becoming  a  multitude  of  nations,  while  we 
follow  the  history  of  the  Scepter,  and  learn  what  the 
Word  of  the  Lord  has  revealed  concerning  his  present 
and  its  future.  For,  if  God  has  been  true  to  his  word, 
and  unless  the  faith  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  has 
become  of  no  effect,  then  the  Scepter,  as  well  as  the 
Birthright,  has  not  only  a  present  existence,  but  a  glo¬ 
rious  future. 

When  God  made  the  covenant  with  Abram  in  which 
he  made  him  (prospectively)  the  father  of  many  na¬ 
tions,  thereby  changing  his  name  to  Abraham,  he  gave 

149 


150  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

the  promise, — “Kings  shall  come  out  of  thee.”  Also, 
when  the  promise  concerning  the  multiplicity  of  na¬ 
tions  was  reiterated  to  his  wife,  whose  former  name 
was  Sarai,  but  now  Sarah,  or  princess,  it  was  said, — 
“Kings  of  nations  shall  be  of  her”  (R.  V.).  Thus  by 
the  choice  or  election  of  God  were  they  made,  not  only 
the  progenitors  of  a  race  which  was  to  develop  into 
“many  nations,”  which  were  to  spread  abroad  to  the 
North,  South,  East  and  West,  but  also  a  royal  family . 
This,  of  course,  includes  a  Sceptre — the  emblem  and 
sign  of  royalty. 

These  promised  blessings,  given  by  the  Lord  and 
confirmed  to  Abraham  by  an  oath,  were  received  by 
him  in  faith,  and  counted  as  though  they  were  already 
in  existence, — for  the  simple  reason  that,  when  a  thing 
is  promised  by  the  Lord  and  received  by  any  one  in 
faith,  that  thing  must  eventually  materialize,  because 
faith  is  the  God-given  force  or  power  which  will  and 
must  eventually  bring  promised  things  into  existence. 
Hence  both  “the  Birthright”  and  “the  Sceptre”  blessing 
passed  from  Abraham  to  Isaac  as  a  real  inheritance; 
while  he  in  turn  bestowed  them  upon  Jacob,  who  so 
much  desired  them  and  considered  them  so  surely  to 
exist  already  that  he  was  willing  to  strike  bargains 
for  them,  or  even  resort  to  fraudulent  measures  to  get 
possession  of  them. 

At  the  death  of  Jacob  these  two  covenant  blessings — 
the  Birthright  and  the  Sceptre — were  separated,  the 
Birthright  falling  to  one  of  his  sons  and  the  Sceptre  to 
another  one  of  them,  as  we  have  heretofore  fully  ex¬ 
plained.  When  Jacob,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  while 
acting  under  the  direction  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  gave  the 


The  Sceptre  and  the  Davidic  Covenant  151 

Sceptre  blessing  to  Judah  and  his  lineage,  the  prophecy 
which  he  gave  with  it  was, — “The  sceptre  shall  not 
depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  between  his 
feet,  until  Shiloh  come ;  and  unto  him  shall  the  gather¬ 
ing  of  the  people  be.”  (Gen.  49:10.) 

After  the  Abrahamic  people  had  cried  down  the 
Divine  Theocracy,  rejected  the  Lord  as  their  king,  and 
insisted  on  having  a  human  king,  they  chose  Saul.  Al¬ 
though  Saul  was  not  of  the  royal  line,  but  a  Ben- 
jamite,  he  was  permitted  to  reign,  for  the  Lord  had 
determined  to  give  the  people  the  desire  of  their  hearts. 
But  after  the  downfall  of  that  haughty  Benjamite, 
David,  a  son  of  the  royal  family,  was  enthroned,  and 
to  him  were  reiterated  the  promises  concerning  the 
royal  family,  which  had  been  emphasized  to  Judah  by 
his  dying  father  when  he  bestowed  on  him  the  cove¬ 
nant  blessing  of  royal  fatherhood. 

When  the  Sceptre  covenant  was  confirmed  to  David, 
the  Lord  gave  the  message  through  Nathan  the 
prophet  in  these  words :  “When  thy  days  be  fulfilled, 
and  thou  shalt  sleep  with  thy  fathers,  I  will  set  up 
thy  seed  after  thee  which  shall  proceed  out  of  thy 
bowels,  and  I  will  establish  his  kingdom.  He  shall 
build  an  house  for  my  name,  and  I  will  establish  the 
throne  of  his  kingdom  forever .  I  will  be  his  father, 
and  he  shall  be  my  son.  If  he  commit  iniquity,  I  will 
chasten  him  with  the  rod  of  men.  But  my  mercy  shall 
not  depart  from  him,  as  I  took  it  from  Saul,  whom  I 
put  away  before  thee.  And  thy  house  and  thy  king¬ 
dom  shall  be  established  forever  before  thee:  Thy 
throne  shall  be  established  forever.”  (2  Sam.  7  :I2-i6.) 


IS2  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

David  was  so  impressed  with  the  magnitude  of  this 
prophecy  and  with  the  period  of  time  which  it  covered 
that  he  went  in  and  sat  before  the  Lord,  pondering 
over  it,  until  in  wonderment  he  exclaimed :  ''Who  am 
I,  O  Lord  God,  and  what  is  my  house  that  thou  hast 
brought  me  hitherto?  And  this  was  yet  a  small  thing 
in  thy  sight,  O  Lord  God  (i.  e.,  the  present  power, 
glory  and  prestige  of  David’s  house,  throne  and  king¬ 
dom)  :  but  thou  hast  spoken  also  of  thy  servant’s  house 
for  a  great  while  to  come.  And  is  this  the  manner  of 
man,  O  Lord  God?”  (2  Sam.  7:18,  19.)  No.  It  is 
not  the  manner  of  man  to  prophesy  concerning  things 
“for  a  great  while  to  come  ”  But  it  is  the  manner  of 
God.  Yes,  and  it  is  the  manner  of  God  to  make  good 
that  which  he  has  spoken.  David  understood  this ;  so 
he  prayed — “And  now,  O  Lord  God,  the  word  that 
thou  hast  spoken  concerning  thy  servant,  and  concern¬ 
ing  his  house,  establish  it  forever,  and  do  as  thou 
hast  said.” 

If  it  be  possible  that  there  can  be  such  power  put 
into  written  words  as  shall  yet  come  from  that  voice 
which  shall  sound  the  seven  thunders,  we  pray  that 
it  may  be  put  into  those  which  record  the  above  facts; 
and  thus  compel  our  readers  to  see  that  it  is  not  the 
spiritual  throne, the  spiritual  sceptre, the  spiritual  house, 
nor  the  heavenly  kingdom,  which  are  therein  spoken  of, 
but  that  it  is  the  literal  throne,  the  earthly  kingdom, 
and  the  lineal  house  of  the  Judo-Davidic  family  which 
are  the  subjects  of  this  prophecy;  and  that  all  these  are 
to  endure  FOREVER. 

There  is  also  in  this  prophecy  a  note  of  warning  to 
David’s  successor,  which  is  given  in  the  following: 


The  Sceptre  and  the  Davidic  Covenant  153 

“If  he  commit  iniquity  I  will  chasten  him  with  the  rod 
of  men.”  It  is  not  at  all  presumable  that  the  ruler, 
sitting  on  the  spiritual  throne,  and  holding  the  sceptre 
over  the  heavenly  kingdom,  would  commit  iniquity ; 
hence  no  such  a  threat  could  have  been  given  with  ref¬ 
erence  to  him.  But  when  it  is  applied  to  Solomon,  the 
immediate  successor  of  his  father  David,  and  to  others 
of  the  royal  line,  it  is  altogether  another  question,  for 
many  of  them  were  as  wicked  as  men  ever  get  to  be. 

Further,  this  prophecy  was  to  go  into  effect  when 
David’s  “days  were  fulfilled,”  and  when  the  son  who 
should  be  set  up  after  him  would  build  a  house  for 
God.  Solomon,  who  was  “set  up”  after  David,  did 
build  a  house  to  the  Lord,  viz.,  the  temple  at  Jerusalem. 
But  the  Messiah  has  never,  as  yet,  built  any  such 
house.  Before  the  temple  was  built,  and  when  Solo¬ 
mon  was  giving  orders  to  Hiram  concerning  the  ma¬ 
terial  for  its  construction,  he  said :  “Behold,  I  purpose 
to  build  an  house  unto  the  name  of  the  Lord  my  God, 
as  the  Lord  spake  unto  David  my  father,  saying,  Thy 
son  whom  I  will  set  upon  thy  throne  in  thy  room  he 
shall  build  an  house  unto  my  name.”  (I  Kings,  5  15.) 

Also,  when  the  temple  was  finished,  Solomon,  stand¬ 
ing  before  the  altar  of  the  Lord,  in  the  presence  of  all 
the  congregation  of  Israel,  and  with  uplifted  hands 
spread  toward  heaven,  in  that  wonderful  prayer  at  the 
dedication  of  the  temple,  said :  “The  Lord  hath  per¬ 
formed  his  word  that  he  spake ;  and  I  am  risen  up 
in  the  room  of  David  my  father,  and  sit  on  the  throne 
of  Israel,  as  the  Lord  promised,  and  have  built  an 
house  for  the  name  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel.  *  *  * 
There  is  no  God  like  thee,  in  heaven  above,  or  on  earth 


154  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

beneath,  who  keepest  covenant  and  mercy  with  thy 
servant,  *  *  *  who  hast  kept  with  thy  servant  David 
my  father  that  which  thou  promisedst  him ;  thou  speak- 
est  also  with  thy  mouth,  and  hast  fulfilled  it  with  thine 
hand ,  as  it  is  this  day.  Therefore  now,  Lord  God  of 
Israel,  keep  with  thy  servant  David  my  father  that  thou 
promisedst  him,  saying:  There  shall  not  fail  thee  a 
man  in  my  sight  to  sit  on  the  throne  of  Israel.”  (i 
Kings,  8:20-25.) 

By  this  prayer  we  see  that  Solomon  understood  that 
the  throne,  the  kingdom,  and  the  lineal  house  of  David 
should  stand  forever. 

Solomon  not  only  understood  it  this  way,  but  de¬ 
clared  it  before  all  the  congregation  of  Israel,  so  that 
the  entire  nation  should  be  fully  aware  of  the  fact. 
This  was  so  thoroughly  known  in  Israel  and  acknowl¬ 
edged  by  her  prophets  that,  at  the  time  of  the  division 
of  the  race  into  two  kingdoms  in  the  days  of  Reho- 
boam  and  Jeroboam,  Abijah,  in  his  zeal  that  the  lineal 
rights  of  the  royal  family  might  not  be  ignored,  stood 
upon  a  mountain  in  Ephraim  and  cried  out:  “Hear 
me,  thou  Jeroboam  and  all  Israel.  Ought  ye  not  to 
know  that  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  gave  the  kingdom 
over  Israel  to  David  forever  and  to  his  sons  (not  son, — 
not  one,  but  many)  by  a  covenant  of  salt?”  (13:5.) 
The  marginal  reading  is,  “a  perpetual  covenant.” 

The  eighty-ninth  Psalm  contains  much  light  re¬ 
garding  the  covenant  under  consideration,  which  the 
Lord  made  with  David  and  his  sons,  concerning  the 
perpetuity  of  his  throne,  scepter ,  kingdom,  and  his 
posterity.  In  it  the  Lord  declares :  “I  have  made  a 
covenant  with  my  chosen,  I  have  sworn  unto  David 


The  Sceptre  and  the  Davidic  Covenant  155 

my  servant,  saying,  Thy  seed  will  I  establish  forever, 
and  build  up  thy  throne  to  all  generations.”  Not  a 
few,  not  some,  not  even  many ,  but  “ALL  generations/’ 

Continuing,  he  says :  “My  mercy  will  I  keep  for  him 
forevermore ,  and  my  covenant  shall  stand  fast  with 
him.  His  seed  also  will  I  make  to  endure  forever,  and 
his  throne  as  the  days  of  heaven.  If  his  children  for¬ 
sake  my  law,  and  walk  not  in  my  judgments;  if  they 
break  my  statutes,  and  keep  not  my  commandments : 
then  will  I  visit  their  transgressions  with  the  rod,  and 
their  iniquity  with  stripes.  Nevertheless,  my  loving- 
kindness  will  I  not  utterly  take  from  him  nor  suffer  my 
faithfulness  to  fail.  My  covenant  will  I  not  break,  nor 
alter  the  thing  that  has  gone  out  of  my  lips.” 

Surely  it  is  not  possible  to  break  the  force  of  these 
words.  The  proposition  could  not  be  stated  in  stronger 
terms.  The  Lord  simply  will  not  break  his  covenant ; 
he  will  not  change,  nor  modify,  nor  in  any  way  or  for 
any  reason  alter,  the  thing  that  he  has  spoken,  even  if 
the  children  of  David  do  forsake  his  law  and  break 
every  commandment  in  his  statute  book.  If  they  do 
break  his  law,  he  will  chastise  and  punish  with  “the 
rod”  and  “with  stripes,”  but  he  will  not  suffer  his 
faithfulness  to  fail. 

The  covenant  is  unconditional.  It  “shall  stand  fast  ” 
no  matter  how  often  they  are  visited  with  rod  and 
stripe  for  their  transgressions.  No  matter  how  severe 
the  punishment,  the  fact  remains  that  the  throne,  the 
sceptre,  the  kingdom  and  the  seed,  must  endure  for¬ 
evermore. 

The  fact  that  in  this  confirmation  of  the  Davidic 
covenant  the  Lord  uses  the  expressions,  “his  children,” 


156  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

“they”  and  “their,”  all  in  the  plural  form,  is  proof 
that  this  covenant  does  not  have  reference  to  the  spir¬ 
itual  reign  of  his  son  Jesus  Christ  in  the  hearts  of 
Christians.  Furthermore,  it  could  not  be  possible  that 
Jesus  Christ, — he  of  whom  the  prophet  Isaiah  wrote 
saying,  “Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is 
given/’  whose  “name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Coun¬ 
sellor,  The  Mighty  God,  The  Everlasting  Father,  The 
Prince  of  Peace,’’ — we  say  it  is  not  possible  for  this 
Prince  of  Peace,  who  is  The  Mighty  God,  to  break 
his  own  commandments,  forsake  his  own  law,  or  disre¬ 
gard  his  own  statutes,  and  then  punish  himself  for  his 
own  wickedness.  No,  these  warnings  do  not  apply  to 
the  Immortal  One,  but  to  the  frail  mortal  sons  of  David, 
of  whom  Solomon  was  the  first,  and  whom  the  Lord 
punished  for  his  wickedness, — as  we  may  learn  by 
referring  to  the  eleventh  chapter  of  1  Kings,  where 
we  read  as  follows :  “And  the  Lord  was  angry  with 
Solomon,  because  his  heart  was  turned  from  the  Lord 
God  of  Israel,  which  had  appeared  unto  him  twice, 
and  had  commanded  him  concerning  this  thing,  that 
he  should  not  go  after  other  gods,  but  he  kept  not  that 
which  the  Lord  commanded.  Wherefore  the  Lord  said 
unto  Solomon :  Forasmuch  as  this  is  done  of  thee,  and 
thou  hast  not  kept  my  covenant  and  my  statutes,  which 
I  have  commanded  thee,  I  will  surely  rend  the  king¬ 
dom  from  thee,  and  I  will  give  unto  thy  servant.  Not¬ 
withstanding,  in  thy  days  I  will  not  do  it,  for  David 

thy  father’s  sake;  but  will  rend  it  out  of  the  hand  of 

% 

thy  son.  Howbeit,  I  will  not  rend  away  all  the  king¬ 
dom  ;  but  will  give  one  tribe  to  thy  son  for  David  my 
servant’s  sake.”  (1  Kings  2:9-13.) 


The  Sceptre  and  the  Davidic  Covenant  1 57 

Please  notice  how  perfectly  the  facts  agree,  in  every 
detail,  with  the  declared  purpose  of  God.  Solomon, 
the  seed  of'  David,  who  was  set  up  after  him,  who  sat 
on  the  throne  in  the  room  of  his  father,  who  built  and 
dedicated  the  house  of  the  Lord,  did  forsake  his  God 
and  refuse  to  obey  his  commandments.  If  God  is 
true  to  his  word,  he  must  punish  any  of  the  children 
of  David  who  thus  forsake  his  law.  So,  as  a  punish¬ 
ment  to  Solomon,  he  purposes  to  take  the  greatness 
and  power  of  the  kingdom  away  from  that  son,  who, 
as  Solomon  hopes,  shall  inherit  the  throne,  crown, 
sceptre  and  kingdom,  in  all  its  glory.  But  no;  the 
Lord  purposes  to  take  away  the  greater  part  of  the 
national  strength  and  power  of  the  kingdom  and  give 
it  to  one  of  the  servants  of  Solomon  instead  of  the 
royal  heir. 

But  while  the  Lord  is  declaring  unto  Solomon  the 
punishment  which  he  purposes  to  visit  upon  him  for 
his  disobedience,  he  is  careful  to  say:  “Howbeit,  I 
will  not  rend  away  all  the  kingdom ;  but  will  give  one 
tribe  to  thy  son.” 

Why  not  “rend  away  all  the  kingdom?” 

The  Divine  reply  is,  “For  David  my  servant’s  sake.” 

Why  for  David’s  sake? 

Because  the  Lord  gave  the  “kingdom  over  Israel  to 
David  and  his  sons  forever.” 

Ah,  he  dare  not  take  away  the  entire  kingdom  from 
that  royal  line!  Yes,  we  can  say  “dare  not,”  and  em¬ 
phasize  it,  too.  And  we  may  also  add,  must  not, 
cannot,  or  any  and  all  such  expressions  as  will  voice 
our  protest  or  express  the  impossibility  of  such  a  thing. 
Indeed,  the  Lord  himself  has  uttered  a  stronger  pro- 


158  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

test  than  ours  could  ever  be.  We  say  this  because 
the  Lord,  in  this  Psalm  which  we  have  under  consid¬ 
eration,  after  saying,  “My  covenant  will  I  not  break, 
nor  alter  the  thing  that  is  gone  out  of  my  lips/’  has,  in 
the  very  next  statement,  made  use  of  words  which  for¬ 
ever  shut  the  door  of  retreat ;  for  he  not  only  took  an 
oath,  in  which  he  pledged  his  own  holy  character,  but 
he  brought  the  physical  universe  into  the  contract,  or 
at  least  that  portion  of  it  which  involves  the  continued 
existence  of  the  present  arrangement  of  our  solar  sys¬ 
tem.  His  declarations  are :  “Once  have  I  sworn,  by 
my  holiness,  that  I  will  not  lie  unto  David.  His  seed 
shall  endure  forever ,  and  his  throne  as  the  sun  before 
me.  It  shall  be  establshed  forever  as  the  moon ,  and 
as  a  faithful  witness  in  the  heaven .”  (Psa.  89:35-37*) 
Also,  in  the  twenty-ninth  verse  of  that  same  Psalm  is 
the  following:  “His  seed  also  will  I  make  to  endure 
forever,  and  his  throne  as  the  days  of  heaven .” 

If  we  are  willing  to  give  these  words  their  full  and 
natural  meaning,  then  surely  we  must  see  clearly  that  it 
is  the  intention  of  the  Lord  that  we  shall  understand 
that,  so  long  as  the  sun,  the  “great  light”  which  he 
created  for  a  light  by  day,  and  the  moon  the  “lesser 
light,”  which  he  created  to  rule  the  night,  shall  keep 
their  appointed  places  in  the  heavens,  traveling  their 
orbits,  continuing  to  make  their  proper  changes,  pass¬ 
ing  through  their  ecliptics,  or  completing  their  luna¬ 
tions, — just  so  long  must  they  rise  over,  shine  down 
upon,  and  set  beyond,  the  limits  of,  a  kingdom  on  this 
earth  over  which  some  member  of  the  Judo-Davidic 
family  is  holding  the  sceptre.  Just  so  long  will  they 
continue  to  say,  by  their  very  presence  in  the  heavens, 


The  Sceptre  and  the  Davidic  Covenant  159 


“We  are  witnesses  unto  men  throughout  all  genera¬ 
tions,  that  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  has  not  lied  into  his 
servant  David.” 

Furthermore,  it  is  certain  that  the  expressions,  “days 
of  heaven/’  and  “a  faithful  witness  in  heaven,”  as 
used  in  these  Scriptures,  are  purely  astronomic,  and 
refer  to  the  stellar  and  atmospheric  heavens.  Hence 
the  throne,  kingdom,  sceptre  and  family  of  David  must 
endure,  “as  the  days  of  heaven,”  i.  e.,  so  long  as  the 
earth  continues  to  revolve  on  its  own  axis,  thus  giving 
to  itself  that  diurnal  motion  which  causes  day  and 
night  to  succeed  each  other,  and  which  enables  the 
sun  and  moon  to  perform  their  functions  of  lighting 

the  day  and  night. 

% 

“But,”  says  one,  “do  not  these  sayings  apply  to 
the  kingdom  and  throne  in  heaven,  where  Christ,  the 
seed  of  David,  is  now  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of 
God?  And  is  not  the  New  Jerusalem,  which  is  above, 
and  is  the  mother  of  us  all,  the  celestial  capital  of  that 
kingdom?”  To  this  we  are  compelled  to  give  a  nega¬ 
tive  answer ;  for  that  celestial  city  has  “no  need  of  the 
sun ,  neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine  in  it ;  for  the  glory  of 
God  did  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof.” 
(Rev.  21:23.) 

“But,”  questions  another  persistent  spiritualizer,  “do 
not  the  seed  and  throne  mentioned  in  these  Scriptures 
refer  to  Christ,  who  is  the  ‘Son  of  David/  in  his  spir¬ 
itual  kingdom,  which  is  set  up  in  the  hearts  of  men?” 
Again  we  are  compelled  to  reply  in  the  negative,  for 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  divine  illuminator  of  that  king¬ 
dom  ;  the  sun  and  the  moon  having  never  been  heavenly 
lights,  only  in  an  astronomic  sense. 


160  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Furthermore,  a  mere  glance  at  the  context  will  re* 
veal  the  fact  that  the  Lord  is  dealing  with  a  very  earth¬ 
ly  seed  and  kingdom ;  for,  intermingled  with  the  prom¬ 
ises  of  an  everlasting  seed,  throne  and  kingdom,  the 
declaration  is  made  concerning  the  children  of  David 
that,  if  they  do  not  walk  in  his  judgments  and  keep 
his  commandments,  but  forsake  his  law,  and  break 
his  statutes,  then  he  will  visit  their  transgressions  with 
the  rod  and  their  iniquity  with  stripes.  But  still,  no 
matter  how  wicked  the  ruler  on  the  throne  or  the 
subject  in  the  realm,  he  will  not  suffer  his  faithful¬ 
ness  to  fail, — his  covenant  with  David  must  stand  for¬ 
evermore. 

The  only  conditions  to  the  covenant  are  such  as  are 
entirely  beyond  the  power  of  man  either  to  control 
or  to  break,  viz.,  the  faithfulness  of  God  in  keeping 
and  fulfilling  his  word,  the  holiness  of  his  character — 
for  he  cannot  lie — and  the  omnipotence  of  his  power  to 
keep  the  sun,  moon  and  the  earth  rolling  onward  in 
their  present  cycles  and  order  until,  by  the  good  pleas¬ 
ure  of  his  will,  he  shall  change  those  ordinances  and 
bring  into  existence  the  new  heavens  and  the  new 
earth.  Hence,  the  Holy  Ghost  has  inspired  Jeremiah 
to  write :  “Thus  saith  the  Lord :  If  ye  can  break  my 
covenant  of  the  day,  and  my  covenant  of  the  night, 
and  that  there  should  not  be  day  and  night  in  their 
season ;  then  may  also  my  covenant  be  broken  with 
my  servant,  that  he  should  not  have  a  son  to  reign 
upon  his  throne.”  (Jer.  33:20,  21.) 

Previously,  in  this  same  chapter,  and  in  the  seven¬ 
teenth  verse,  the  Lord  has  said :  “David  shall  never 
want  a  man  to  sit  upon  the  throne  of  the  house  of 


The  Sceptre  and  the  Davidic  Covenant  161 

Israel.”  Then  he  adds  the  following:  “If  my  cove¬ 
nant  be  not  with  day  and  night,  and  if  I  have  not  ap¬ 
pointed  the  ordinance  of  heaven  and  earth,  then  will 
I  cast  away  the  seed  of  Jacob,  and  David  my  servant, 
so  that  I  will  not  take  any  of  his  seed  to  be  rulers 
over  the  seed  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.”  This, 
too,  after  saying :  As  the  host  of  heaven  cannot  be 
numbered,  neither  the  sand  of  the  sea  measured:  so 
will  I  multiply  the  seed  of  David  my  servant.”  (Jer. 
33:22,  25,  26.) 

In  the  statement,  “David  shall  never  want  a  man  to 
sit  upon  the  throne,”  the  word  man  is  translated  from 
the  Hebrew  "ish”  ( tysh ),  which  is  defined  as  mean¬ 
ing  “a  man,  a  person,  a  certain  one,  any  one.” 

In  the  declaration  that  David  should  always  “have 
a  son  to  reign  upon  his  throne,”  the  Hebrew  word  from 
which  “son  ’  is  taken  is  “Ben,”  which  means  “son, 
man,  or  a  builder  of  the  family  name.” 

In  the  other  expression,  “take  any  of  his  seed  to  be 
rulers,”  etc.,  the  word  “seed”  is  taken  from  the  He¬ 
brew  “Zara” — “a  man,  a  person,  a  child,  a  nephew,  a 
grandchild,  or  relative.” 

This  being  the  case — together  with  the  fact  that 
when  duration  of  time  is  being  considered,  there  are 
no  stronger  words  in  the  Hebrew  language  than  those 
which  are  translated  “forever,”  “evermore,”  and  “ever¬ 
lasting,”  then  these  following  propositions  must 
stand : 

( 1 )  The  Lord  God  of  Israel  made  a  covenant  with 
David  concerning  the  perpetuity  of  his  seed,  throne, 
and  kingdom,  regardless  of  the  good  or  evil  conduct 
of  his  descendants. 


i6 2  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

(2)  The  subjects  of  this  Davidic  kingdom  must  be¬ 
long  to  the  lineage  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob. 

(3)  Some  person  of  the  lineage  of  King  David 
must  be  on  that  throne  (seat  of  power)  who  holds  the 
sceptre,  and  reigns  over  that  kingdom. 

(4)  National  afflictions  will  come  upon  them,  as 
punishment  for  their  unrighteousness ;  but  they  will 
not  be  utterly  destroyed ;  for  the  kingdom  must  endure 
so  long  as  there  be  day  and  night,  and  the  subjects 
must  continue  to  increase  until  they  become  innu¬ 
merable. 

(5)  So  long  as  the  sun,  moon  and  earth  continue 
rolling  onward  in  their  appointed  orbits,  just  so  long 
must  the  seed,  throne,  and  Israelitish  kingdom  of  David 
be  in  existence,  or  we  have  no  longer  a  holy  God  ruling 
in  the  heavens  and  watching  over  Israel. 

(6)  In  order  to  prove  that  God  has  become  unholy — 
i.  e.,  lied — some  man  must  yet  find  a  fulcrum  on  which 
to  rest  his  lever  with  which  he  can  stop  the  rotation  of 
the  earth,  and  then  find  some  way  by  which  he  can 
drive  those  witnessing  lights  from  the  sky ;  or  in  some 
way  break  up  the  appointed  ordinances  of  heaven  and 
earth,  so  that  there  cannot  be  day  and  night  in  their 
season.  Otherwise,  the  holiness  and  omnipotence  of 
God  must  not  be  questioned.  This  is  the  reason  that 
David  so  triumphantly  says  to  him :  '‘Thou  hast  mag¬ 
nified  thy  word  above  all  thy  name.”  (Psa.  138:2.) 

(7)  The  fact  that  God  has  thus  magnified  his  word 
above  his  name  would,  in  case  of  a  failure  on  his  part 
to  perpetuate  that  which  he  swears  shall  be  in  exis¬ 
tence  forever,  give  us  authority  to  impeach  his  testi¬ 
mony  on  every  line,  for  it  would  undeify  him. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Jeremiah’s  call  and  commission. 

Having  settled  the  question  concerning  the  per¬ 
petuity  of  the  covenant  which  God  made  with  “David 
and  his  sons/'  together  with  the  fact  that  he  has  given, 
as  a  pledge  of  their  everlastingness,  not  only  the 
astronomic  order  of  producing  day  and  night,  months, 
years  and  seasons,  but  the  very  holiness  of  his  char¬ 
acter  as  well,  we  must  now  proceed  to  take  up  the 
thread  of  history  which  pertains  to  that  sceptre,  throne, 
kingdom  and  royal  seed  whose  continued  existence  is 
balanced  over  against  such  weighty  considerations  as 
the  power,  integrity  and  immutability  of  the  character 
and  Word  of  God. 

While  dealing  with  the  history  of  the  Birthright  and 
its  inheritors,  the  house  of  Joseph,  we  had,  of  necessity, 
much  to  say  concerning  the  history  of  the  Sceptre  and 
the  royal  family,  its  inheritors.  Especially  was  this 
true  when  we  contrasted  that  system  of  feudalism  and 
continual  overthrowing  of  dynasties  which  prevailed  in 
the  kingdom  of  Israel  as  compared  with  the  one  con¬ 
tinuous  dynasty  and  succession  of  the  royal  princes 
of  the  Judo-Davidic  family,  as  they  mounted  the  throne 
of  their  fathers  and  held  the  sceptre  over  the  kingdom 
of  Judah. 

In  order  to  have  our  historic  thread  complete  we 
must  resume  our  history  of  the  Sceptre  at  the  call  of 
Jeremiah  the  prophet,  which  occurred  at  a  period  prior 

163 


164  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

to  the  time  when  the  Jews  were  taken  into  the  Baby¬ 
lonish  captivity,  but  subsequent  to  the  time  when  Is¬ 
rael,  the  Birthright  kingdom,  was  taken  into  captivity 
by  Shalmanesar,  king  of  Assyria,  and  deported  into 
the  country  of  the  head-waters  of  the  Euphrates — the 
country  more  generally  known  as  Medo-Persia. 

It  is  certain  that  we  can  never  understand  the 
history  of  this  covenanted  throne,  kingdom  and  family, 
and  the  fact  that  they  have  been  thus  far  built  up 
“unto  all  generations  unless  we  understand  the  his¬ 
tory  and  accept  with  unfaltering  faith  the  call  and 
commission  of  Jeremiah  the  prophet,  in  relation  to 
those  things  which  God  has  given  his  pledge  shall 
endure  forever.  For  if  to  be  taught  the  distinction 
between  the  two  houses,  and  to  understand  the  differ¬ 
ence  between  the  kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Judah,  may 
be  likened  unto  the  key  which  unlocks  the  outer  sanc¬ 
tuary  of  our  understanding  of  sacred  history,  then 
surely  a  knowledge  of  the  life  and  work  of  Jeremiah, 
the  son  of  Hilkiah,  is  the  key  which  the  Holy  Spirit 
can  use  to  open  that  inner  sanctuary,  or  Holy  of  Holies, 
of  our  understanding  in  these  matters  upon  which  rest 
the  vindication  of  God. 

According  to  the  Divine  record,  there  have  lived  in 
this  world  only  three  men  who  were  sanctified  before 
they  were  born.  The  first  was  this  same  Jeremiah, 
who,  in  one  of  the  darkest  hours  in  all  the  history  of 
the  Abrahamic  nations  which  pertains  to  them  as  a 
whole,  was  made  the  custodian  of  the  sceptre,  throne 
and  royal  seed  of  David.  The  next  was  John  the  Bap¬ 
tist,  the  forerunner  and  herald  of  the  coming  Prince  of 
the  House  of  David.  Then  came  the  last  and  greatest 


Jeremiah’s  Call  and  Commission  165 

of  all — our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son 
of  David,  that  Prince  of  whom  the  angel  declared  unto 
Mary  at  the  time  of  the  annunciation:  “The  Lord 
God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father 
David.”  (Luke,  1 132.)  When  this  blessed  Prince 
takes  his  seat  he  will  be  the  last  King  to  sit  on  that 
throne,  or  any  other  on  this  earth. 

In  the  days  of  Josiah,  the  son  of  Amon,  king  of 
Judah,  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  his  reign,  while  Jere¬ 
miah  was  still  a  minor,  a  mere  youth,  only  seventeen 
years  of  age,  he  received  his  call  as  the  “Prophet  unto 
the  nations,”  and  was  given  his  commission,  the  de¬ 
tails  of  which  he  himself  has  given  in  the  first  chapter 
of  his  own  prophecies,  as  follows  : 

“Then  the  word  of  God  came  unto  me,  saying:  Be¬ 
fore  I  formed  thee  in  the  belly  I  knew  thee — before 
thou  earnest  forth  out  of  the  womb  I  sanctified  thee, 
and  I  ordained  thee  a  prophet  unto  the  nations. 

“Then  said  I :  Ah,  Lord  God !  behold,  I  cannot 
speak,  for  I  am  a  child. 

“But  the  Lord  said  unto  me :  Say  not,  I  am  a  child, 
for  thou  shalt  go  to  all  that  I  shall  send  thee,  and  what¬ 
soever  I  shall  command  thee  thou  shalt  speak.  Be 
not  afraid  of  their  faces ;  for  I  am  with  thee  to  deliver 
thee,  saith  the  Lord. 

“Then  the  Lord  put  forth  his  hand  and  touched  my 
mouth.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  me :  Behold,  I  have 
put  my  words  into  thy  mouth.  See,  I  have  this  day 
set  thee  over  the  nations  and  over  the  kingdoms,  to 
root  out,  and  to  pull  down,  and  to  destroy,  and  to 
build  and  to  plant.”  (Jer.  1 :  4-10.) 


166  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Called  as  the  prophet  of  God ;  the  words  of  the  Lord 
put  into  his  mouth  with  a  touch  from  the  Divine  hand ; 
and  set  by  the  Divine  One  “over  the  nations,  and  over 
the  kingdoms/'  What !  Surely  he  was  not  set  over 
all  the  nations,  neither  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth? 
No,  there  is  nothing  said  about  all  nations;  just  simply 
and  definitely — “the  nations”  and  “the  kingdoms.”  So 
far  as  the  word  which  is  translated  “nations”  in  the 
text  is  concerned,  it  is  the  same  word  that  is  used 
when  the  Lord  said  to  Abraham,  “I  have  made  the 
father  of  many  nations" ;  and  when  he  said  to  Rebekah, 
“Two  nations  are  in  thy  womb.”  He  now  calls  Jere¬ 
miah  a  “Prophet  unto  the  nations,”  i.  e.,  the  “two  na¬ 
tions,”  the  “two  kingdoms,”  the  two  houses — Israel 
and  Judah;  the  “two  families,”  the  inheritors  of  the 
Birthright  and  of  the  Sceptre.  It  is  to  these  nations, 
not  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  that  the  Lord  sends 
Jeremiah,  his  prophet,  with  a  commission  to  root  out, 
tear  down,  and  destroy,  on  the  one  hand ;  but — hear 

it ! — he  was  also  Divinelv  commissioned  to  “build  and 

•> 

plant”  ! 

The  fact  that  Jeremiah  was  commissioned  to  over¬ 
throw  the  commonwealth  of  Judah,  destroy  the  Davidic 
kingdom,  as  it  then  existed  among  the  Jewish  people, 
throw  down  the  throne  of  David  which  was  in  their 
midst,  and  root  out  that  branch  of  the  royal  family 
which  occupied  the  throne  at  that  time — all  this  is  so 
clear,  so  well  known,  that  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  ac¬ 
cepted  authorities  of  Christendom  proclaim  it.  But 
those  same  authorities  do  not  seem  to  know,  neither  do 
they  proclaim  that  which  follows  as  a  natural  sequence, 
i.  e.,  that  if  it  was  the  kingdom,  sceptre,  throne  and 


Jeremiah’s  Call  and  Commission  167 

seed  of  David  which  were  to  be  overthrown,  then  it 
follows  that  it  is  those  very  same  things  which  must 
again  be  planted  and  builded. 

Hence  we  affirm  that,  as  God  is  still  holy,  and  did  not 
lie  to  David,  and  if  he  did  not  sanctify,  call,  and  com¬ 
mission  Jeremiah  in  vain,  then  that  throne  of  David 
was  again  set  up,  the  seed  planted,  and  the  kingdom 
builded  before  Jeremiah  died. 

Mind  yoUj  we  do  not  say  that  these  were  planted 
and  builded  among  the  Jews.  That  was  not  at  all 
necessary  in  order  to  fulfillment.  Indeed,  we  will  show 
that  it  was  not  planted  nor  builded  in  Judah.  For  God 
“gave  the  kingdom  over  Israel  to  David  forever,  even 
to  him  and  his  sons  by  a  covenant  of  salt.”  Nine- 
twelfths  of  the  seed  of  Israel  never  were  members  of 
the  Jewish  kingdom. 

The  great  wrong  of  which  the  standard  authorities 
of  Christendom  have  been  guilty  is  that,  with  a  wide- 
open  Bible  before  them,  they  should  be  in  such  igno¬ 
rance  of  the  declared  purpose  of  God,  and  have  such 
a  hesitating,  apologetic  faithlessness  in  his  covenant 
promises, — wherein  he  has  sworn  by  himself, — that 
they  are  blinded  even  to  the  necessity  of  accounting 
for  the  building  and  planting  which  God  gave  Jere¬ 
miah  to  do. 

The  great  fault  with  their  whole  teaching,  so  far 
as  the  outcome  of  Jeremiah’s  work  is  concerned,  is 
that  they  have  either  suffered,  implied,  or  actually 
taught  that  the  promises  of  God  to  David  were  allowed 
to  go  by  default.  And  when  an  honest  questioner 
would  arise,  as  of  necessity  there  must,  he  at  once  be¬ 
comes  an  irresponsible,  irregular,  unarmored  stripling, 
upon  whom  these  regulars  in  the  army  of  Israel  insist 


168  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

on  putting  the  armor  of  Saul.  But  the  “heavy”  armor 
of  the  should-be  leader  will  not  fit  the  bright  young 
head  and  freer  limbs  of  the  little  irregular ;  so  he  must 
go  forth  alone  to  slay  the  giant  of  infidelity,  whose 
champions  have  been  defying  the  armies  of  the  living 
God.  Meanwhile,  these  “regulars”  stand  on  the  hill 
of  their  self-importance  and  ask,  “Who  is  this  youth¬ 
ful  stripling  whom  we  see  down  in  the  valley  picking 
up  pebbles  with  which  to  meet  the  foe  whose  challenge 
has  sent  dismay  among  us  for  lo!  these  many  days?" 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  TEARING  DOWN  AND  ROOTING  OUT. 

Pursuant  to  the  object  of  Jeremiah  s  call  and  work, 
the  first  king  on  David's  throne  to  be  disposed  of  was 
Josiah,  for  it  was  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  his  reign 
that  the  call  of  God  came  to  Jeremiah,  as  you  may 
know  by  reading  Jer.  i  :i,  2.  Jeremiah  himself  gives 
no  account  of  the  downfall  of  Josiah,  but  it  is  recorded 
in  2  Kings  23,  and  2  Chr.  thirty-fifth  chapter.  It  took 
place  in  the  days  of  Pharaoh-Necho,  king  of  Egypt, 
and  Charchemish,  king  of  Assyria. 

Josiah  himself  was  a  good  man  and  a  good  king; 
he  did  all  that  could  be  done  to  restore  the  people  to 
the  worship  of  God.  He  had  all  the  wizards,  workers 
with  familiar  spirits,  images,  idols  and  abominations 
put  out  of  the  land ;  but  the  Lord  would  not  stay  his 
threatened  punishment  of  the  kingdom  of  Judea,  which 
had  become  “worse"  than  Israel. 

Concerning  the  goodness  of  Josiah,  and  also  his  ina¬ 
bility  to  prevent  the  impending  calamity,  it  is  written  : 

And  like  unto  him  was  no  king  before  him,  that 
turned  to  the  Lord  with  all  his  heart,  and  all  his  soul, 
and  with  all  his  might,  according  to  all  the  law  of 
Moses;  neither  after  him  arose  any  like  him.  Not¬ 
withstanding,  the  Lord  turned  not  from  the  fierceness 
of  his  great  wrath,  wherewith  his  anger  was  kindled 
against  Judah,  because  of  all  the  provocations  that 
Manasseh  (son  of  Hezekiah)  had  provoked  him  withal. 

169 


170  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

And  the  Lord  said,  I  will  remove  Judah  (the  Jews) 
out  of  my  sight,  as  I  have  removed  Israel  (the  ten 
tribes).  (2  Kings,  23:25-27.) 

Not  only  was  Josiah  the  best  king  they  ever  had, 
and  not  only  did  he  put  away  those  abominations,  but 
he  also  kept  the  greatest  passover  that  was  ever  held 
in  Israel  or  Judah  since  the  days  of  Samuel  the 
prophet.  To  this  passover  that  good  king  gave  thirty- 
three  thousand  and  three  hundred  cattle  and  oxen,  and 
to  this  the  princes  and  people  gave  willingly  of  their 
Hocks  and  herds,  until  the  number  was  swelled  to  many 
thousand  more. 

The  sons  of  Aaron  made  themselves  ready ;  the  peo¬ 
ple  made  themselves  ready ;  the  sacrifices  were  killed ; 
the  blood  sprinkled ;  the  offerings  were  burned  upon 
the  altar  of  the  Lord,  and  the  people  kept  the  feast  of 
unleavened  bread  for  seven  days.  But  all  this  availed 
nothing,  except  a  personal  blessing  to  Josiah,  that  he 
should  die  in  peace  and  not  see  the  destruction  of  Jeru¬ 
salem  and  the  captivity  of  the  people. 

No,  the  eternal  fiat  of  God  had  gone  forth,  and  we 
think  that  no  number  of  worshipers,  no  number  of 
good  kings,  or  good  men,  and  surely  no  mighty  army 
of  bad  men,  could  stay  the  downfall  of  that  nation. 

For  the  Lord  says,  “After  all  this,”  when  Pharaoh- 
Necho,  the  king  of  Egypt,  came  up  to  fight  against 
Charchemish,  king  of  Assyria,  Josiah  rashly,  without 
provocation,  made  it  his  business  and  went  out  to  fight 
against  the  king  of  Egypt,  who  kindly  tried  to  restrain 
him,  and  sent  ambassadors  to  him  saying:  “What 
have  I  to  do  with  thee,  thou  king  of  Judah?  I  come 
not  against  thee  this  day,  but  against  the  house  (Assy- 


The  Tearing  Down  and  Rooting  Out  171 

ria)  wherewith  I  have  war;  for  God  commanded  me 
to  make  haste :  forbear  thee  from  meddling  with  God, 
who  is  with  me,  that  he  destroy  thee  not”  And  the 
record  continues:  “Nevertheless,  Josiah  would  not 
turn  his  face  from  him,  but  disguised  himself,  that  he 
might  fight  with  him  and  harkened  not  unto  the  word 
of  Necho  from  the  mouth  of  God,  and  came  to  fight 
in  the  valley  of  Megiddo.  And  the  archers  shot  at 
King  Josiah ;  and  the  king  said  to  his  servants,  Have 
me  away,  for  I  am  sore  wounded.  His  servants  there¬ 
fore  took  him  out  of  that  chariot,  and  put  him  in  the 
second  chariot  that  he  had,  and  brought  him  to  Jeru¬ 
salem,  and  he  died,  and  was  buried  in  one  of  the 
sepulchres  of  his  fathers.  And  all  Judah  and  Jerusa¬ 
lem  mourned  for  Josiah.  And  Jeremiah  lamented  for 
Josiah.”  (2  Chr.  35:21-25.) 

So  Jeremiah  saw  that  good  king  pulled  down,  and 
lamented  him,  together  with  the  whole  nation ;  and  the 
singing  men  and  women  made  an  ordinance  of  lamen¬ 
tations  for  Josiah,  and  Shallum  the  son  of  Josiah 
ascended  the  throne.  But  the  Lord  had  said,  “I  swear 
by  myself”  that  this  house  of  Judah  shall  come  to  deso¬ 
lation.  So  he  says  to  this  lamenting  people :  “Weep 
not  for  the  dead,  neither  bemoan  him :  but  weep  sore 
for  him  that  goeth  away :  for  he  shall  return  no  more, 
nor  see  his  native  country.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord 
touching  Shallum,  the  son  of  Josiah,  which  reigned 
instead  of  Josiah,  his  father,  which  went  out  of  this 
place,  he  shall  not  return  any  more:  but  he  shall  die 
in  the  place  whither  they  have  led  him  captive,  and 


172  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

shall  see  this  land  no  more.”  (Jer.  22:10-12.)  Thus 
Jeremiah  records  the  fact  of  another  overthrow;  and 
,  so  the  work  goes  on. 

Jehoiakim,  another  son  of  Josiah,  was  next  to  take 
the  throne  of  his  fathers;  but  hear  the  judgment  which 
was  pronounced  upon  him :  “Therefore  thus  saith  the 
Lord  concerning  Johoiakim,  the  son  of  Josiah,  king  of 
Judah:  They  shall  not  lament  for  him  saying  (to 
each  other),  Ah,  my  brother!  or,  my  Ah,  my  sister! 
They  shall  not  lament  for  him,  saying,  Ah,  Lord!  or, 
Ah,  his  glory !  He  shall  be  buried  with  the  burial  of 
an  ass,  drawn  and  cast  forth  beyond  the  gates  of  Jeru¬ 
salem.”  (Jer.  22:18,  19.)  Another  disposed  of.  Who 
next? 

“As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  though  Coniah,  the  son 
of  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Judah,  were  the  signet  upon  my 
right  hand,  yet  would  I  pluck  thee  thence ;  and  I  will 
give  thee  into  the  hand  of  them  that  seek  thy  life,  and 
into  the  hand  of  them  whose  faces  thou  fearest,  even 
into  the  hand  of  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babylon, 
and  into  the  hands  of  the  Chaldeans.  And  I  will  cast 
thee  out,  and  thy  mother  that  bare  thee,  into  another 
country,  where  ye  were  not  born,  and  there  shall  ye 
die.  But  unto  the  land  whereunto  they  desire  to  re¬ 
turn  thither  shall  they  not  return.” 

“Is  this  man  Coniah  a  despised  broken  idol?  Is 
he  a  vessel  wherein  is  no  pleasure?  Wherefore  are 
they  cast  out,  he  and  his  seed,  and  are  cast  into  a  land 
which  they  know  not?  O  earth,  earth,  earth,  hear  the 
word  of  the  Lord.  Thus  saith  the  Lord :  Write  ye 
this  man  childless,  a  man  that  shall  not  prosper  in  his 


The  Tearing  Down  and  Rooting  Out  173 

days ;  for  no  man  of  his  seed  shall  prosper,  sitting  upon 

the  throne  of  David,  and  ruling  any  more  in  Judah.” 
(Jer.  22:24-30.) 

Thus  Coniah  makes  the  fourth  king  who  has  been 
disposed  of  since  the  Lord  called  and  commissioned 
Jeremiah;  but  there  is  still  another,  as  recorded  by  that 
prophet:  “And  King  Zedekiah,  the  son  of  Josiah, 
reigned  instead  of  Coniah,  the  son  of  Jehoiakim.”  (Jer. 
37:i-) 

Zedekiah,  the  successor  to  Coniah,  ascended  the 
throne  about  six  hundred  years  before  Christ.  His 
reign  lasted  only  eleven  years,  and  he  is  the  last  king 
of  the  Judo-Davidic  line  who  has  reigned  over  the  Jew¬ 
ish  nation  from  that  day  to  this.  Yet  God  has  said  that 
he  would  build  up  David’s  throne  unto  all  generations, 
and  prior  to  that  he  declared :  “The  Sceptre  shall  not 
depart  from  Judah  (his  posterity),  nor  a  law-giver 
from  between  his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come ;  and  unto  him 
(Shiloh)  shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  be.”  (Gen. 
49:10).  With  these  facts  before  us  it  behooves  us  to 
look  well  into  this  history  of  Zedekiah,  and  learn  his 
fate  and  also  that  of  his  family. 

During  the  reign  of  Coniah,  the  predecessor  of  Zede¬ 
kiah, the  king  of  Babylon  had  come  against  the  kingdom 
of  Judah,  subdued  it  and  carried  away  the  king,  his 
mother,  his  wives,  and  others,  into  Babylon.  Conse¬ 
quently  at  the  time  when  Zedekiah  ascended  the  throne, 
the  country  of  Judah  was  a  province  of  Babylon.  But 
the  then  tolerant  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon, 
took  Mattaniah,  the  third  son  of  Josiah,  who  was  of 


174  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

course  brother  to  Jehoiakim,  Coniah's  father,  and 
changed  his  name  to  Zedekiah,  then  made  him  king 
instead  of  Coniah. 

We  do  not  purpose,  especially  at  this  time,  to  go  into 
endless  genealogies,  as  it  is  generally  confusing  to 
the  reader.  In  this  Josiah  family  there  were  at  least 
two  Zedekiahs,  and  Zedekiahs  along  the  family  line  for 
centuries  back.  There  were  also  Shallums,  and  Shah 
lums,  and  Shallums,  and  even  Coniah’s  name  is  spelled 
three  different  ways.  We  will  also  say,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  more  critical  student,  that  often  a  man  is  said 
to  be  the  son  of  another  when  in  fact  he  is  grandson 
or  even  further  removed.  Christ  is  the  “Son  of  David," 
and  yet  David  is  his  great-grandfather  twenty-eight 
generations  back.  “From  David  until  the  carrying 
away  into  Babylon  are  fourteen  generations,  and  from 
the  carrying  away  into  Babylon  unto  Christ  are  four¬ 
teen  generations."  (Matt,  i  :i y.) 

This  Zedekiah  of  whom  we  write  is  the  third  son  of 
Josiah,  for  we  read,  “And  the  king  of  Babylon  made 
Mattaniah,  his  (Coniah's)  father's  brother,  king  in  his 
stead,  and  changed  his  name  to  Zedekiah." 

“Zedekiah  was  twenty-and-one  years  old  when  he 
began  to  reign,  and  he  reigned  eleven  years  in  Jerusa¬ 
lem.  And  his  mother's  name  was  Hamutal,  the  daugh¬ 
ter  of  Jeremiah  of  Libnah."  (2  Kings  24  117-19.)  Thus 
we  find  Jeremiah  making  the  following  record  con¬ 
cerning  Coniah's  successor :  “And  King  Zedekiah,  the 
son  of  Josiah,  reigned  instead  of  Coniah,  the  son  of 
Jehoiakim,  whom  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon, 
made  king  in  the  land  of  Judah."  ( Jer.  37 :  1.)  Hence 


The  Tearing  Down  and  Rooting  Out  175 

this  young  king,  the  fifth  to  occupy  the  throne  of 
David,  since  Jeremiah  had  received  his  commission, 
was  his  own  grandson. 

The  work  of  rooting  out  and  tearing  down  has  been 
well  done  so  far,  and  we  may  rest  assured  that,  al¬ 
though  the  prophet’s  own  flesh  and  blood  are  on  the 
throne  and  dwelling  in  the  palace,  the  God-assigned 
work  will  not  stop.  But  if  there  should  be  any  very 
young  or  helpless  members  of  that  family  survive  the 
wreck  which  must  come  during  the  tearing  down  and 
rooting  out  period,  who  would  have  a  greater  claim 
as  their  natural  protector  than  one  so  closely  allied  by 
the  ties  of  blood  as  this  very  man  whom  God  has 
chosen  for  the  work  of  building  and  planting,  as  well 
as  of  tearing  down  and  rooting  out  ? 

Jeremiah  records  the  downfall  of  Zedekiah  and  his 
sons,  the  royal  princes,  as  follows :  “In  the  ninth  year 
of  Zedekiah,  king  of  Judah,  in  the  tenth  month,  came 
Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  and  all  his  army 
against  Jerusalem,  and  they  besieged  it.  And  in  the 
eleventh  year  of  Zedekiah,  in  the  fourth  month,  and 
the  ninth  day  of  the  month,  the  city  was  broken  up. 
And  all  the  princes  of  the  king  of  Babylon  came  in,  and 
sat  in  the  middle  gate,  even  Nergal-sharezar,  Samgar- 
Nebo,  Sarsechim,  Rabsaris,  Rabmag,  with  all  the  resi¬ 
due  of  the  princes  of  the  king  of  Babylon. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  that  when  Zedekiah,  the  king  of 
Judah,  saw  them,  and  all  the  men  of  war,  then  they  fled, 
and  went  forth  out  of  the  city  by  night,  by  the  way  T>f 
the  king’s  garden,  by  the  gate  betwixt  the  two  walls:; 
and  he  went  out  the  way  of  the  plain.  But  the  Chal¬ 
deans’  army  pursued  after  them,  and  overtook  Zede- 


176  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

kiah  in  the  plains  of  Jericho;  and  when  they  had  taken 
him,  they  brought  him  up  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  king 
of  Babylon,  to  Riblah,  in  the  land  of  Hamath,  where 
he  gave  judgment  upon  him.  Then  the  king  of  Baby¬ 
lon  slew  the  sons  of  Zedekiah  in  Riblah  before  his 
eyes ;  also  the  king  of  Babylon  slew  all  the  nobles  of 
Judah.  Moreover  he  put  out  Zedekiah’s  eyes,  and 
bound  him  in  chains,  to  carry  him  to  Babylon.  And  the 
Chaldeans  burned  the  king’s  house,  and  the  houses  of 
the  people,  with  fire,  and  brake  down  the  walls  of  Je¬ 
rusalem.  ( Jer.  39  :i-8.) 

In  the  fifty-second  chapter  of  Jeremiah  there  is  a 
statement  of  these  events,  to  which,  after  recording 
the  fact  concerning  the  king’s  being  carried  to  Babylon 

in  chains,  there  is  added  the  following:  “And  the 
king  of  Babylon  *  *  *  put  him  in  prison  till  the 

day  of  his  death.”  (Jer.  52:11.) 

Thus  ends  the  history  of  the  last  prince  of  the  house 
of  David  who  has  ever  reigned  over  the  Jewish  people 
from  that  time  until  the  present;  and  we  know  that 
they  are  not  now,  as  a  nation,  being  ruled  over  by  any 
prince  of  their  royal  family;  for  they  are  scattered 
among  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  are  now  fulfill¬ 
ing,  not  the  prophecies  concerning  their  ultimate  and 
most  glorious  destiny,  but  a  class  of  prophecies  which 
pertain  to  this  period,  or  time,  of  being  scattered, 
which  are  those  of  becoming  “a  hiss  and  a  byword,” 
“crying  for  sorrow  of  heart  and  vexation  of  spirit, 
and  leaving  “their  name  for  a  curse.”  When  those 
events  occurred  which  resulted  in  the  overthrow  of  the 
Zedekiah  branch  of  the  royal  house,  a  climax  was 
reached,  not  only  in  the  history  of  all  those  things 


The  Tearing  Down  and  Rooting  Out  177 

which  were  involved  in  the  Davidic  covenant,  but  also 
in  that  predestined  work,  for  the  accomplishment  of 
which  God  sanctified  and  sent  Jeremiah  into  this 
world. 

By  this  climax,  the  first  part  of  his  mission,  in  all  its 
phases,  was  now  most  thoroughly  accomplished — name¬ 
ly,  the  plucking  up,  throwing  down,  afflicting.  Indeed, 
it  was  so  well  done,  that  the  heretofore  accepted  au¬ 
thorities  in  theologic,  historic  and  ethnologic  matters 
have  taught  that  the  sceptre,  throne  and  kingdom  of 
David  were  wiped  out  of  existence,  together  with  the 
house  of  David,  excepting  only  another  branch  of  the 
family  of  Josiah,  who  were  carried  away  into  the  Baby¬ 
lonish  captivity,  of  whom  came  Christ,  the  son  of 
David,  who,  according  to  the  Scripture,  must  yet  sit 
upon  the  throne  of  his  father  David.  We  will  give 
but  one  example  of  that  class  of  sophistical  reasoning 

which  has  led  the  mind  of  the  Christian  world  into  this 
gross  error. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  well-known  and  much-used 
Polyglot  Bible,  published  by  Samuel  Bagster  &  Sons, 

London.  The  compilers  of  this  work  (whoever 
they  are  we  know  not)  give  what  is  called  “A  sum¬ 
mary  view  of  the  principal  events  of  the  period  from 
the  close  of  the  sacred  canon  of  the  Old  Testament 
until  the  times  of  the  New  Testament.”  According 
to  the  system  of  chronology  which  this  work  adopts, 
the  overthrow  of  Zedekiah  occurred  in  the  year  =589 
B.  C.  This  proposed  summary  begins  after  the  return 
of  the  Jewish  people  from  the  Babylonish  captivity, 
but  while  they  were  yet  under  the  dominion  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Persia;  and  when  Artaxerxes  Longimanus 


178  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

was  the  reigning  king,  who  in  his  twentieth  year  com¬ 
missioned  Nehemiah  to  rebuild  the  walls  of  Jerusa¬ 
lem,  an  event  which  happened,  according  to  the  chro¬ 
nology  used,  in  446  B.  C. 

Then  follows  a  brief  record  of  the  death  and  suc¬ 
cessions  of  kings,  the  rise  and  fall  of  dynasties,  and 
the  overthrow  of  kingdoms,  powers,  dominions  and 
empires.  But  it  is  always  shown  conclusively  that 
these  ruling  powers,  whatever  might  be  their  nation¬ 
ality,  were  dominating  the  Jewish  people. 

The  summary  shows  that  Alexander  the  Great 
marched  into  Judea  to  punish  the  people  for  certain 
grievances  which,  in  his  mind,  they  had  practiced 
against  him  as  commander  of  the  Grecian  forces,  and 
that  God  thwarted  him  in  that  purpose.  It  shows  that 
when  Alexander  died  the  Grecian  empire  was  divided 
among  his  four  generals ;  that  Palestine  was  given  to 
Loamedon,  one  of  those  generals,  and  that  it  was  soon 
taken  away  from  him  by  Ptolemy,  the  king  of  Egypt, 
that  they  “rejoiced  to  submit  to  this  new  master,”  and 
what  the  consequences  were.  It  shows  what  they  suf¬ 
fered  under  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  especially  after  a 
false  rumor  had  been  spread  concerning  his  death, 
which  they  believed  and  rejoiced  in,  and  that  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  this  rejoicing  “he  slew  40,000  persons,  sold 
as  many  more  for  slaves,  plundered  the  temple  of  gold 
and  furniture  to  the  amount  of  80  talents  of  gold,  en¬ 
tered  the  Holy  of  Holies,  and  sacrificed  a  sow  upon 
the  altar  of  burnt  offerings,  and  caused  the  broth  of  it 
to  be  sprinkled  all  over  the  temple.”  No  greater  indig¬ 
nity  than  this  could  have  been  put  upon  that  people. 
The  summary  continues,  a  truthful  record  of  suffering 


The  Tearing  Down  and  Rooting  Out  179 

after  suffering,  trouble  after  trouble,  and  indignity 
after  indignity,  heaped  upon  that  conquered  people, 
who  during  all  those  centuries  were  reigned  over  by 
their  enemies,  the  Gentile  nations ;  but  not  once  does 
the  record  show — no  not  for  even  one  generation — 
that  they  were  ruled  by  a  prince  of  their  own  royal 
house. 

Finally,  the  summary  ends  as  follows:  “At  length 
Antipater,  a  noble  but  crafty  Idumaean,  by  favor  of 
Julius  Caesar,  was  made  procurator  of  Judea,  and 
Hyrcanus  continued  in  the  priesthood.  After  Anti¬ 
pater’s  death,  his  son,  Herod  the  Great,  by  the  assist¬ 
ance  of  Antony,  the  Roman  triumvir,  and  through 
much  barbarity  and  bloodshed  assumed  the  regal  dig¬ 
nity  ;  which  authority  was  at  length  confirmed  by  Au¬ 
gustus  Caesar.  He  maintained  his  dignity  with  great 
ability,  but  with  the  utmost  cruelty,  in  his  own  family 
as  well  as  among  others,  till  the  birth  of  Christ.  In 
the  interval  he  built  many  cities,  and,  to  ingratiate  him¬ 
self  with  the  Jews,  almost  rebuilt  the  temple. 

His  cruel  attempt  to  murder  the  infant  Saviour  is 
recorded  by  the  evangelist ;  and  soon  afterward  he  died 
most  miserably.  After  some  years,  during  which  the 
dominions  of  Herod  were  governed  by  his  sons,  Judea 
became  a  Roman  province,  and  the  sceptre  departed 
from  Judah,  for  Shiloh  was  come  (the  italics  are  their 
own)  ;  and  after  having  been  under  the  government  of 
Roman  procurators  for  some  years,  the  whole  Jewish 
state  was  at  length  subverted  by  Titus,  the  son  of  Ves¬ 
pasian. 

The  sophistry  in  the  use  of  those  italicised  words,  as 
employed  by  the  compilers  of  that  summary,  is  that 


180  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

they  destroy  the  evident  meaning  of  that  prophecy  to 
which  they  refer,  by  the  substitution  of  various  scep¬ 
tres — held  by  various  kings,  of  various  Gentile  na¬ 
tions,  that  have  consecutively  held  dominion  over  the 
Jewish  people — for  one  particular  Sceptre,  which  the 
Lord  promised  should  be  held,  only  by  some  member  of 
Judah’s  family  line,  and  which  should  not  cease  to  be 
held  by  those  of  his  posterity  until  Shiloh  should  come. 

If  the  view,  as  put  forth  in  the  closing  sentence  of 
that  summary,  is  the  true  one,  then  the  entire  prophecy 
must,  for  several  reasons,  go  by  default. 

(1)  A  sceptre  did  not  depart  from  over  the  Jews 
when  Christ  came.  Forty  years  after  Christ  had  come 
and  gone  finds  them  still  under  the  power  of  Rome. 
Shortly  afterward  they  were  dispersed  and  have  since 
been  scattered  among  all  nations,  where  they  remain 
unto  this  day,  and  are  still  being  ruled  over . 

(2)  If  the  first  coming  of  Christ  was  his  Shiloh- 
coming,  then  Shiloh  failed;  for  the  people  did  not 
gather  unto  him. 

(3)  The  Lord  declares:  “Judah  is  my  law  giver/' 
According  to  this  summary  and  other  accepted  evi¬ 
dence,  Judah  as  Lawgiver  departed  from  the  Jews  588 
years  before  Shiloh  came.  Hence  that  unbridged 
chasm  of  nearly  six  hundred  years  stands  like  a  gaping 
wound  in  the  side  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  when¬ 
ever  she  is  compelled  to  show  herself  in  naked  honesty. 
The  entire  trend  of  this  summary  with  its  subtle  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  prophecy  in  question  seems  to  be  that  so  long 
as  the  Jewish  nation  was  ruled  over,  no  matter  by  whom, 
and  held  together  as  a  province  or  state,  this  prophecy 
was  vindicated :  whereas  such  vindication,  conception, 


The  Tearing  Down  and  Rooting  Out  181 

or  use  of  those  words,  is  only  an  attempt  to  hold  to¬ 
gether,  by  daubing  with  untempered  mortar,  an  edifice 
which  is  tottering  and  tumbling. 

The  most  charitable  construction  which  can  be  put 
upon  such  accommodating,  mollifying,  weak  and  abor¬ 
tive  efforts  to  vindicate  the  truth  of  God,  is  that  the 
persons  are  ignorant  of  just  some  such  vital  point  as 
the  fact  that  Jeremiah  was  called  and  commissioned  of 
God  to  build  and  plant  anew  the  plucked-up  kingdom 
of  David. 

All  who  claim  that  Christ  has  come  as  Shiloh  are 
compelled  to  resort  to  just  such  distortions  of  the  Di¬ 
vine  Word  as  the  one  under  consideration,  in  order  to 
fill  up  that  gaping  hiatus  of  588  years,  from  the  over¬ 
throw  of  Zedekiah  until  Christ. 

Furthermore,  after  they  have  plastejed  over  that 
gap  to  their  own  (questionable)  satisfaction,  they  are 
still  confronted  with  the  fact  that  the  Lord  God  did 
not  give  unto  Christ  the  throne  of  his  father  David,  nor 
cause  him  to  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob — no,  not 
even  spiritually — for  the  Jews  are  a  part  of  the  house 
of  Jacob:  as  these  men  themselves  are  compelled  to 
admit.  Also  the  Jews  are  enemies  to  the  gospel  of 
grace  which  Jesus  Christ  came  to  bring,  “but  as  touch¬ 
ing  the  election  (of  race),  they  are  beloved  for  the 
fathers’  sake.” 

Meanwhile,  the  great  question  which  confronts  us 
is  this :  Has  God  suffered  his  faithfulness  to  fail,  or  al¬ 
lowed  any  of  his  promises  to  go  by  default,  or  per¬ 
mitted  his  covenant  either  with  Judah,  David  or  Christ 
to  suffer  lapse?  The  very  thought  that  such  could 


i8 2  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

possibly  be  the  case  causes  us  to  feel  the  first  chilling 
blight  of  skepticism  to  fall  heavily  upon  our  hitherto 
believing  and  happy  hearts. 

The  next  link  in  the  chain  of  this  divine  history  is  of 
such  deep  import  that  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  over¬ 
estimate  its  value,  as  it  is  the  connecting  link  between 
sacred  history  and  prophecy ;  for  you  will  notice  in  the 
first  clause  of  the  following  text  we  find  a  record  of 
events  which  have  become  history,  but  before  the  sen¬ 
tence  is  finished  we  are  carried  out  into  the  field  of 
prophecy.  “It  shall  come  to  pass  that  like  as  I  have 
watched  over  them ,  to  pluck  up,  and  to  break  down , 
and  to  throw  down,  and  to  destroy,  and  to  afflict ,”  so 
will  I  watch  over  them,  TO  BUILD  and  TO  PLANT, 
saith  the  Lord.  (Jer.  31  *.28.) 

The  Lord  here  uses  the  already  accomplished  facts 
of  history  as  a  basis  upon  which  to  rest  his  promise 
concerning  the  accomplishment  of  those  which  are  yet 
future.  Hence,  upon  events  which  once  were  prophetic, 
but  which  have  now  become  history,  he  predicts  the 
fulfillment  of  others  which  are  still  in  the  future.  But 
these  events  must  follow  as  a  sequence  to  those  which 
have  gone  before,  since  both  these  which  are  past  and 
those  which  are  yet  to  come  were  originally  couched  in 
the  same  prophecy,  in  the  same  commission,  and  were 
to  be  accomplished  by  the  same  prophet,  Jeremiah  of 
Libnah. 

The  Lord  has  said  that  David  should  never  lack  a 
man  of  his  seed  to  sit  upon  that  throne. 

Query — Where  was  the  seed  with  which  Jeremiah 
must  “build  and  plant"? 


CHAPTER  IV. 

VINDICATION  OF  THE  PERSONAL  PROMISES  TO  JEREMIAH. 

Before  we  can  gather  up  even  the  first  link  in  the 
chain  of  history  as  regards  the  “building  and 
planting”  which  Jeremiah  must  accomplish,  we 
must  take  a  glance  at  some  of  the  facts  concerning 
the  prophet’s  own  history. 

We  have  already  noticed  that  when  the  Lord 
was  instructing  Jeremiah  in  the  work  which  he 
was  to  do,  he  said  to  him,  regarding  those  that 
should  oppose  or  fight  against  him,  “Be  not  afraid 
of  their  faces,  for  I  am  with  thee  to  deliver  thee.” 

But  Jeremiah  seems  not  to  have  met  with  any 
special  opposition  until  during  the  reign  of 
Jehoiakim.  This  was  at  a  time  when  the  Lord 
commanded  him  to  go  into  the  court  of  the  temple 
and  speak  to  the  people  as  they  gathered  from  all 
the  cities  of  Judah  to  worship;  at  the  same  time  he 
told  him  to  speak  all  the  words  which  he,  the  Lord, 
had  commanded  him,  and  to  “diminish  not  a  word.” 

He  was  true  to  God,  and  faithfully  delivered  the 
Divine  message.  The  message  itself  was  full  of 
mercy,  and  accompanied  with  a  proviso  that  if  every 
man  would  turn  from  his  evil  way  then  the  Lord 
would  avert  the  impending  calamities  which  hung 
over  the  nation  as  judgments  in  consequence  of 
their  numerous  and  manifold  sins.  But  it  only 
resulted  in  the  prophets,  the  priests,  and  the  people 

183 


184  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

gathering  themselves  into  an  excited,  surging  and 
howling  mob,  which  made  a  prisoner  of  Jeremiah, 
saying  unto  him,  “Thou  shalt  surely  die.” 

Later,  when  the  princes  of  Judah  heard  these 
things,  they  came  up  to  the  temple,  and  in  order 
that  they  might  hear  and  judge  for  themselves, 
Jeremiah  was  permitted  to  speak  again.  This  he 
did,  still  faithfully  giving  the  unwelcome  message 
of  the  Lord.  In  conclusion,  he  said:  “The  Lord 
sent  me  to  prophesy  against  this  house  (the  temple) 
and  against  this  city  all  the  words  that  ye  have 
heard.  Therefore  now  amend  your  ways  and  doings 
and  obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord  your  God ;  and  the 
Lord  will  repent  him  of  all  the  evil  that  he  hath 
pronounced  against  you. 

“As  for  me,  behold,  I  am  in  your  hand;  do  with 
me  as  seemeth  good  unto  you.  But  know  ye  for 
a  certain,  that  if  ye  put  me  to  death,  ye  shall  surely 
bring  innocent  blood  upon  yourselves,  and  upon 
this  city,  and  upon  the  inhabitants  thereof ;  for  of 
a  truth,  the  Lord  hath  sent  me  unto  you  to  speak 
all  these  words  in  your  ears.”  The  princes  were 
evidently  touched  somewhat  by  this  appeal,  and 
the  people  with  them ;  for  after  this,  both  princes 
and  people  stood  against  the  prophets  and  the 
priests,  and  said,  “This  man  is  not  worthy  to  die.” 
So  a  division  arose  among  them,  which  resulted  in 
Jeremiah’s  being  spared  for  the  time  and  set  at 
liberty.  But  he  continued  his  earnest  expostulations 
with  the  people  because  of  their  sins,  and  continued 
just  as  before  his  startling  annunciations  concern¬ 
ing  the  impending  ruin  of  temple,  city  and  nation. 


Vindication  of  the  Promises  of  Jeremiah  185 

These  truths  were  so  unwelcome  and  painful  for 
the  people  to  hear,  that  other  prophets  soon  began 
to  appear  who  uttered  contrary  predictions,  no 
doubt  for  the  sake  of  the  popularity  which  they 
should  acquire  among  the  people  by  prophesying 
the  return  of  peace  and  prosperity.  Hananiah  was 
the  name  of  one  of  these  false  prophets.  On  one 
occasion  he  broke  a  small  wooden  yoke  which 
Jeremiah  wore  upon  his  neck,  which  had  been  put 
there  as  an  object  lesson  by  Divine  direction.  When 
this  false  prophet  broke  that  yoke,  he  told  the 
people  that  the  Lord  said  that  the  yoke  of  Nebu¬ 
chadnezzar,  which  was  not  only  upon  the  neck  of 
Judah,  but  upon  all  nations,  should  be  broken  within 
two  years.  But  the  Lord  spoke  to  Hananiah, 
through  his  true  prophet,  Jeremiah,  and  told  him 
that,  because  he  had  made  the  people  trust  in  a  lie, 
he  should  die  that  same  year.  And  the  record 
reads,  So  Hananiah,  the  prophet,  died  the  same 
year  in  the  seventh  month.” 

Shemeniah  was  another  of  those  lying  prophets 
who  was  dealt  with  in  a  manner  which  condemned 
him  and  exonerated  Jeremiah.  But  still  Jeremiah’s 
enemies,  the  priests,  false  prophets,  and  certain 
elders,  were  not  at  rest,  but  continued  their  perse¬ 
cutions  until  the  result  was  that  Jeremiah  was 
thrown  into  prison.  With  his  liberty  thus  restricted 
he  could  not  publicly  deliver  his  messages,  so  he 
called  Baruch,  the  scribe,  to  his  assistance,  and  he 
wrote  as  Jeremiah  dictated.  This  matter  was  in- 


186  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

scribed  upon  a  roll  of  parchment,  with  the  view 
of  having  it  read  to  the  people  in  some  public  and 
frequented  part  of  the  city. 

The  favorable  opportunity  occurred  on  the  occa¬ 
sion  of  a  great  festival,  which  was  a  feasting  day, 
and  which  brought  the  inhabitants  of  the  land 
from  all  parts  of  Judea  together  at  Jerusalem.  On  the 
day  of  the  festival  Baruch  took  the  roll  and  stationed 
himself  at  the  entry  of  the  new  gate  of  the  temple,  and, 
calling  upon  the  people  to  hear  him,  began  to  read.  A 
great  concourse  of  people  soon  gathered  around  him 
who  listened,  apparently  with  honest  attention. 

But  one  of  the  by-standers,  Michaiah,  went  down 
into  the  city  to  the  king’s  palace,  and  reported  to  the 
king’s  scribes  and  princes,  who  were  assembled  in 
the  council  chamber,  that  Baruch  had  gathered  the 
people  together  in  one  of  the  courts  of  the  temple, 
and  that  he  was  reading  to  them  a  discourse  on 
prophecy  which  had  been  written  by  Jeremiah. 
He  also  told  them  all  he  himself  had  heard,  as  Ba¬ 
ruch  read  the  book  in  the  hearing  of  the  people. 

This  aroused  such  an  interest  and  anxiety  among 
them  that  they  immediately  sent  Jehudi,  an  at¬ 
tendant  at  the  palace,  to  tell  Baruch  to  come  to 
them  and  bring  the  roll  with  him.  As  soon  as  he 
arrived,  they  asked  him  to  read  what  he  had  written. 
He  did  so,  and  they  were  evidently  much  impressed, 
for  the  Scripture  statement  is,  “When  they  had 
heard  all  the  words  they  were  afraid,  both  one  and 
the  other.” 


Vindication  of  the  Promises  of  Jeremiah  187 

Their  fear  must  have  been  great,  because  they 
felt  a  conviction  that  these  words  were  from  the 
Lord,  and  that  these  predictions  would  surely  come 
to  pass.  This  very  fear  created  in  them  a  tender 
regard  for  both  Baruch  and  Jeremiah,  for  they  told 
him  that  they  would  be  obliged  to  report  the  matter 
to  the  king;  but  they  advised  Baruch,  saying:  “Go 

hide  thee;  thou  and  Jeremiah,  and  let  no  man  know 
where  ye  be.” 

When  the  matter  was  reported  to  the  king,  the 
subject  matter  of  the  book  so  angered  him  that  when 
he  had  read  only  three  or  four  leaves,  he  took  out 
his  pen-knife  and  cut  the  entire  roll  to  pieces  and 
threw  it  in  the  fire,  and  then  ordered  his  officers  to 
take  Baruch,  the  scribe,  and  Jeremiah,  the  prophet; 
but  the  Lord  hid  them.”  (Jer.  36:26.) 

Strange,  isn’t  it,  that  they  should  have  Jeremiah  in 
prison,  and  yet,  when  they  come  to  look  for  him  he 
cannot  be  found  ?  But  then,  we  believe  that  when  the 
Lord  does  a  thing  it  is  well  done.  One  thing  we  do 
know  about  this,  that  the  Lord  took  him  out  of  prison 
to  hide  him,  and  that  when  he  again  appeared  among 
men,  they  did  not  imprison  him  on  the  old  charge,  for 
the  Scripture  saith :  “Now  Jeremiah  came  in  and  went 

out  among  the  people;  for  they  had  not  put  him  in 
prison.” 

Meanwhile,  King  Jehoiakim  had  received  his  prom¬ 
ised  burial,  that  of  “an  ass,  drawn  and  cast  outside  the 
gates  of  Jerusalem,”  “and  his  dead  body,”  as  Jeremiah 
says,  was  “cast  out  in  the  day  to  the  heat,  and  in  the 
night  to  the  frost.” 


1 88  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

The  next  time  in  which  we  find  Jeremiah  a  prisoner 
is  during  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  who,  as  we  have  before 
mentioned,  was  the  prophet’s  own  grandson.  At  this 
time  Jeremiah’s  enemies  represented  to  the  King  that 
the  predictions  which  were  uttered  by  the  prophet  were 
so  gloomy  and  terrible  that  they  depressed  and  dis¬ 
couraged  the  hearts  of  the  people  to  such  an  extent  that 
they  were  weakened  in  their  power  to  resist,  and  that 
accordingly  he  must  be  regarded  as  a  public  enemy.  So 
persistently  were  these  claims  urged  that  finally  the 
King  gave  Jeremiah  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies  and 
told  them  that  they  might  do  with  him  as  they  pleased. 

There  was  a  dungeon  in  the  prison,  to  which  there 
was  no  access  except  from  above.  The  bottom  was  wet 
and  miry  and  covered  with  filth  and  slime.  It  was  the 
custom  to  let  prisoners  down  into  its  gloomy  depths  and 
leave  them  there  to  starve.  Into  this  filthy  dungeon 
Jeremiah  was  cast  and  was  left  to  die  of  misery  and 
hunger.  But  God  brought  Jeremiah  into  this  world  to 
accomplish  a  work,  for  the  accomplishment  of  which 
he  himself  had  pledged  his  reputation  as  God ;  conse¬ 
quently  he  could  not  afford  to  let  that  man  die  then 
and  there. 

So  the  Lord  began  to  trouble  Zedekiah.  His  heart 
smote  him,  his  fears  confronted  him,  and  he  trembled 
with  misgivings  lest  he  had  delivered  a  true  prophet 
of  God  into  the  hands  of  those  who,  he  knew,  would 
surely  put  him  to  death.  So  he  inquired  what  had  been 
done  with  the  prisoner,  and  learned  that  he  had  been 
practically  buried  alive.  Then,  with  fear-tortured  haste, 
he  commanded  an  officer  to  take  thirty  men  and  get 
Jeremiah  out  of  that  horrible  pit  “before  he  die.” 


Vindication  of  the  Promises  of  Jeremiah  189 

When  they  went  to  the  dungeon  and  opened  the 
mouth  of  it  they  found  that  he  had  sunk  deep  into  the 
mire.  They  threw  down  some  old  clothes,  which  he 
was  to  fold  and  place  under  his  arms  and  about  those 
parts  of  his  body  where  the  ropes  were  to  pass,  and 
where  the  greatest  weight  would  come  in  pulling  him 
out  of  the  mire  and  up  out  of  that  dismal  pit. 

After  that  Jeremiah  had  the  freedom  of  the  court  of 
the  prison,  and  the  King  secretly  sought  him  and 
begged  him  to  reveal  the  truth  concerning  his  own 
fate  and  that  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah.  Jeremiah  did 
this  faithfully,  and  the  King  found  out  all  that  he 
sought  to  know ;  which  proved  to  be  much  more  than 
he  cared  to  learn,  especially  concerning  his  own  fate. 

While  Jeremiah  was  shut  up  in  the  court  of  that 
prison  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  him  for  the  last 
time  concerning  the  destruction  of  the  city.  At  the 
same  time  the  promise  concerning  the  preservation  of 
his  own  life  was  given,  and  was  as  follows :  “But  I  will 
deliver  thee  in  that  day,  saith  the  Lord,  and  thou  shalt 
not  be  given  into  the  hand  of  the  men  of  whom  thou  art 
afraid.  For  I  will  surely  deliver  thee,  and  thou  shalt 
not  fall  by  the  sword,  but  thy  life  shall  be  for  a  prey 
(booty  or  prize)  upon  thee.”  (Jer.  39:  17,  18.) 

Jeremiah  remained  shut  up  in  that  prison  until  the 
Babylonish  forces  captured  the  city,  broke  down  the 
walls,  burned  the  Royal  palaces  and  the  houses  of  the 
people,  thus  making  the  inside  of  those  prison  walls  the 
only  place  of  safety  in  all  that  city. 

Now,  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  one  well  worthy  of 
God  and  certainly  one  most  worthy  of  note,  that  the 
Lord  had  promised  not  only  that  the  prophet  should  be 


19°  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

delivered  from  his  enemies  among  his  own  people,  but 
also  that  the  enemies  of  his  people  should  treat  him 
well,  and  that  amidst  it  all  his  life  should  be  spared.  It 
is  also  a  remarkable  fact  that,  in  view  of  all  this,  we 
read:  “Now  Nebuchadnezzar,  King  of  Babylon,  gave 
charge  concerning  Jeremiah  to  Nebuzar-adan,  the  cap¬ 
tain  of  the  guard,  saying,  “Take  him  and  look  well  to 
him,  but  do  him  no  harm,  but  do  unto  him  even  as  he 
shall  say  unto  thee.”  (Jer.  39:11,  12.) 

The  effect  of  this  command  from  the  conquering 
king  was  so  wonderful  in  its  results,  and  the  result  was 
so  absolutely  essential  in  order  that  Jeremiah  might  be 
free  to  finish  his  Divinely-appointed  task,  that  we  are 
moved  to  give  this  result  just  as  it  is  recorded  in  the 
Word  of  God: — 

“And  the  captain  of  the  guard  took  Jeremiah  and 
said  unto  him,  *  *  Behold  I  loose  thee  this  day  from 
the  chains  that  were  upon  thy  hand.  If  it  seem  good  un¬ 
to  thee  to  come  with  me  into  Babylon,  come  and  I  will 
look  well  unto  thee ;  but  if  it  seem  ill  unto  thee  to  come 
with  me  into  Babylon,  forbear ;  behold  all  the  land  is 
before  thee;  whither  it  seemeth  good  and  convenient 
for  thee  to  go,  thither  go.  *  *  So  the  captain  of  the 
guard  gave  him  victuals  and  a  reward  (money)  and  let 
him  go.” 

Query:  Where  did  he  go  and  why? 


CHAPTER  V. 

A  ROYAL  REMNANT  THAT  ESCAPES. 

When  Nebuzar-adan,  the  captain  of  the  Chaldean 
guard,  gave  Jeremiah  privilege  to  go  where  he  pleased, 
and  provided  him  with  all  that  was  needful  for  the 
journey,  the  record  further  declares :  “Then  went  Jere¬ 
miah  unto  Gedeliah,  the  son  of  Ahikam,  to  Mizpah,  and 
dwelt  with  him  among  the  people  that  were  left  in  the 
land.”  (Jer.  40:6.)  The  next  verse  of  the  same  chap¬ 
ter  states  that  the  people  who  were  still  in  the  land 
were  “the  poor  of  the  land,  of  them  that  were  not 
carried  away  captive  to  Babylon.” 

This  Gedeliah,  the  son  of  Ahikam,  was  the  man 
whom  the  King  of  Babylon  had  made  governor  of  what 
little  there  was  left  in  Judea;  for  he  had  taken  the 
masses  of  the  people  into  captivity  to  Babylon  and 
made  servants  of  them. 

It  seems  that,  since  the  capital  city  of  Judea  was  now 
destroyed,  Gedeliah  had  been  compelled  to  set  up  a 
provincial  government  in  some  other  city  and  had 
chosen  Mizpah.  Also,  when  the  refugees  from  among 
the  Jews  who  had  fled  into  Moab,  Ammon  and  Edom 
heard  that  the  King  of  Babylon  had  left  a  remnant  in 
Judea  and  had  set  a  governor  over  them,  then  they 
returned  and  put  themselves  under  him.  So  also  did 
the  several  captains  of  small  outlying  forces  until,  all 
told,  there  was  quite  a  goodly  number  in  this  remnant, 
as  it  was  called. 


192  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

But  the  little  province  did  not  prosper  long,  for  the 
King  of  Ammon  entered  into  a  plot  with  Ishmael,  the 
son  of  Nethaniah,  to  assassinate  its  new  governor. 
Johanan,  the  son  of  Kareah,  discovered  this  plot  and 
told  Gedeliah.  At  the  same  time  he  offered  to  slay 
secretly  this  Ishmael,  the  would-be  assassin ;  but  Gede¬ 
liah  would  not  permit  it,  would  not  believe  Johanan’s 
story,  and  accused  him  of  speaking  falsely  concerning 
Ishmael. 

However,  it  was  only  a  short  time  until  the  plot  was 
successfully  carried  out;  for  Ishmael  and  nine  of  his 
confederates  slew  not  only  the  governor,  but  all  the 
Chaldeans,  all  the  men  of  war,  and  all  the  Jews  that 
were  with  him.  His  object  in  all  this  was  that  he  might 
easily  make  captives  of  the  rest  of  the  people,  who  were 
unarmed,  and  carry  them  away  into  Ammon  to  increase 
and  strengthen  the  kingdom  of  the  Ammonites. 

To  show  that  this  was  the  object,  we  quote  the  full 
text  of  the  tenth  verse  of  the  forty-first  chapter  of  Jere¬ 
miah.  Still  it  is  not  of  any  very  special  interest  to  us 
to  know  that  such  was  his  object,  but  there  is  something 
in  that  text  which  is  of  the  greatest  possible  interest 
to  us.  The  reason  for  Jeremiah’s  going  to  Mizpah  is 
there.  The  key  to  the  possible  fulfillment  of  Jehovah’s 
promise  to  David  is  there.  The  possibilities  of  the  suc¬ 
cess  of  Jeremiah’s  commission  are  there.  The  Divine 
support  to  our  faith  and  an  opening  door  for  the  com¬ 
plete  vindication  of  God  are  there. 

“Then  Ishmael  carried  away  captive  all  the  residue 
of  the  people  that  were  in  Mizpah,  even  the  King's 
Daughters,  and  all  the  people  that  remained  in  Mizpah, 
whom  Nebuzar-adan,  the  captain  of  the  guard,  had 


193 


A  Royal  Remnant  that  Escapes 

committed  to  Gedeliah,  the  son  of  Ahikam ;  and  Ish- 
mael,  the  son  of  Nethaniah,  carried  them  away  captive 
and  departed  to  go  over  to  the  Ammonites/’ 

What !  'The  King’s  daughters?”  we  hear  you  ex¬ 
claim. 

Yes;  but  wait  until  we  shall  gather  into  one  focus  a 
few  other  points,  and  then  we  can  see  the  way  perfectly 
clear  for  Jeremiah  to  finish  completely  his  God-given 
task. 

When  Johanan  and  the  other  captains  of  the  fighting 
forces  heard  what  Ishmael  had  done  they  gathered 
themselves  together,  started  in  pursuit  and  overtook 
him  at  Gibeon.  At  this  juncture  the  Scripture  says: 
"Now  it  came  to  pass  that  when  all  the  people  which 
were  with  Ishmael  saw  Johanan,  the  son  of  Kareah, 
and  all  the  captains  of  the  forces  that  were  with  him, 
then  they  were  glad.  So  all  the  people  that  Ishmael 
had  carried  away  captive  from  Mizpah  cast  about  and 
returned,  and  went  unto  Johanan,  the  son  of  Kareah. 
But  Ishmael,  the  son  of  Nethaniah,  escaped  from 
Johanan  with  eight  men  and  went  unto  the  Ammon¬ 
ites/’  (Jer.  41:13,  15.) 

After  Johanan  had  retaken  this  captive  company,  and 
Ishmael,  the  traitor,  had  escaped,  then  he  became  afraid 
of  the  Chaldeans,  and  feared  that  the  King  of  the  Chal¬ 
dean  Empire,  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  had  placed  Gede¬ 
liah  over  them,  would,  upon  hearing  what  Ishmael  had 
done,  send  his  army  and  destroy  them.  So,  under  the 
distress  and  despair  of  the  hour,  Johanan,  who  was  now 
their  recognized  leader,  with  all  the  captains  and  the 
people,  from  the  least  unto  the  greatest,  made  an  ap¬ 
peal  unto  the  prophet  of  God,  "and  said  unto  Jeremiah 


194  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

the  prophet,  Let,  we  beseech  thee,  our  supplication  be 
accepted  before  thee,  and  now  pray  for  us  unto  the 
Lord  thy  God, even  for  all  this  remnant  (for  we  are  left 
but  a  few  of  many,  as  thine  eyes  do  behold  us)  ;  that 
the  Lord  thy  God  may  show  us  the  way  wherein  we 
may  walk,  and  the  thing  that  we  may  do.” 

In  reply  to  this  appeal  Jeremiah  told  them  that  he 
would  pray  for  them  and  inquire  of  the  Lord  for  them, 
but  that  they  must  obey  the  Lord ;  for  he  would  tell 
them  just  what  the  Lord  said,  whether  it  was  good  or 
bad,  and  that  he  would  keep  nothing  back.  To  which 
they  replied:  “ Whether  it  be  good,  or  whether  it  be 
evil,  we  will  obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord  our  God,  to 
whom  we  send  thee ;  that  it  may  be  well  with  us  when 
we  obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord  our  God.”  Then  Jere¬ 
miah  besought  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  heard  and  gave 
instructions.  Among  other  things  the  Lord  told  him 
to  say  to  them,  “Be  not  afraid  of  the  King  of  Babylon, 
of  whom  ye  are  afraid ;  be  not  afraid  of  him,  saith  the 
Lord ;  for  I  am  with  you  to  save  you,  and  to  deliver 
you  from  his  hand.”  He  also  told  them  not  to  go  down 
to  Egypt,  as  was  their  intention,  thinking  they  would 
be  safe  if  they  placed  themselves  under  the  protection 
of  the  King  of  Egypt. 

Furthermore,  he  told  them  that  if  they  did  go  to 
Egypt  the  very  thing  which  they  feared  would  come 
upon  them,  and  they  should  be  destroyed,  saying :  “If 
ye  wholly  set  your  faces  to  enter  into  Egypt,  and  go  to 
sojourn  there,  then  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  the  sword 
which  ye  feared  shall  overtake  you  there  in  the  land 
of  Egypt,  and  the  famine  whereof  ye  were  afraid  shall 
follow  close  after  you  there  in  Egypt,  and  there  shall  ye 
die.” 


195 


A  Royal  Remnant  that  Escapes 

The  Lord  also  told  Jeremiah  that  these  people  were 
dissembling  in  their  hearts,  when  they  sent  him  to  pray 
for  them  and  to  make  their  request.  So  we  are  not 
surprised  that  it  is  recorded  that  Johanan  said  unto 
Jeremiah :  “Thou  speakest  falsely :  the  Lord  our  God 
hath  not  sent  thee  to  say,  Go  not  into  Egypt  to  sojourn 
there :  But  Baruch,  the  son  of  Neriah,  setteth  thee 
against  us,  for  to  deliver  us  into  the  hands  of  the 
Chaldeans,  that  they  might  put  us  to  death,  and  carry 
us  away  captive  into  Babylon/’ 

Neither  are  we  surprised  to  read  the  result,  which 
is  recorded  as  follows:  “But  Johanan,  the  son  of 
Kareah,  and  all  the  captains  of  the  forces  took  all  the 
remnant  of  Judah  that  were  returned  from  all  the  na¬ 
tions  whither  they  had  been  driven,  to  dwell  in  the  land 
of  Judah ;  even  men,  women  and  children,  and  the 
King’s  Daughters,  and  every  person  that  Nebuzar- 
adan,  the  captain,  had  left  with  Gedeliah,the  son  of  Ahi- 
kam,  the  son  of  Shaphan,  and  Jeremiah,  the  prophet, 
and  Baruch,  the  son  of  Neriah.  So  they  came  into  the 
land  of  Egypt ;  for  they  obeyed  not  the  voice  of  the 
Lord.  Thus  came  they  even  to  Tahpanhes.”  (Ter 
43:5-8.) 

Baruch,  the  scribe,  was  the  companion  of  Jeremiah 
in  prison,  when  the  Lord  took  them  out  and  hid  them. 
He  was  also  his  companion  in  persecution  and  affliction 
and  accusation.  Now,  since  we  find  his  name  men¬ 
tioned  as  one  of  this  company  which  Johanan  compelled 
to  go  to  Egypt  against  the  direct  command  of  God, 
there  is  just  one  prophecy  concerning  him  which  we 
need  to  mention  before  we  proceed  further.  It  is  as 
follows :  “Thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel,  unto 


196  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

thee,  O  Baruch :  Behold,  that  which  I  have  built  will 
I  break  down,  and  that  which  I  have  planted  I  will 
pluck  up,  even  this  whole  land,  *  *  *  but  thy  life 

will  I  give  unto  thee  for  a  prey  (booty  or  reward)  in 
all  places  whither  thou  goest.”  (Jer.  45  :2,  4,  5.) 

Furthermore,  when  that  company  had  reached  Egypt 
and  were  at  Tahpanhes,  the  Lord  again  used  Jeremiah 
to  prophesy  concerning  their  destruction,  and  also  con¬ 
cerning  the  King  of  Babylon  and  his  coming  against 
Pharaoh-Hophra,  the  King  of  Egypt,  and  many  other 
matters;  but  we  will  only  give  a  small  portion — that 
which  pertains  to  the  destiny  of  the  people  whose 
history  we  are  following. 

The  prophecy  opens  with  these  words:  “The  word 
that  came  to  Jeremiah  concerning  all  the  Jews  which 
dwell  in  the  land  of  Egypt.”  Note  carefully  the  fol¬ 
lowing:  “I  will  take  the  remnant  of  Judah,  that  have 
set  their  faces  to  go  into  the  land  of  Egypt  to  sojourn 
there,  and  they  shall  all  be  consumed,  and  fall  in  the 
land  of  Egypt ;  they  shall  even  be  consumed  by  the 
sword  and  by  the  famine ;  they  shall  die,  from  the  least 
even  unto  the  greatest,  by  the  sword  and  by  the  famine ; 
and  they  shall  be  an  execration,  and  an  astonishment, 
and  a  curse,  and  a  reproach.”  (Jer.  44:  12.) 

The  complete  destruction  of  that  company  is  fore¬ 
told  in  those  words ;  yet  the  Lord  has  in  that  company 
a  few  persons  whose  lives  he  has  promised  shall  be 
spared.  So,  before  the  prophecy  continues  much  fur¬ 
ther  the  following  proviso  is  given :  “None  shall  return 
but  such  as  shall  escape”  (Verse  14.) 

And  before  the  prophecy  is  ended  abundant  pro¬ 
vision  is  made  for  the  very  few  whom  God  has 


A  Royal  Remnant  that  Escapes  197 

promised  shall  live.  Hence  we  find  in  the  prophecy  as 
it  continues  the  following:  “Behold  I  shall  watch  over 
them  for  evil,  and  not  for  good;  and  all  the  men  of 
Judah  that  are  in  the  land  of  Egypt  shall  be  consumed 
by  the  sword  and  by  the  famine,  until  there  be  an  end 
of  them.  Yet  a  small  number  that  escape  the  sword 
shall  return  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.” 

Remember  that  the  masses  of  the  house  of  Judah,  of 
the  Jewish  people,  were  in  captivity  in  Babylon,  where 
they  were  to  stay  for  seventy  years.  Also  remember 
that  this  remnant  which  came  into  Egypt  were  only  the 
ragged  end  of  the  nation,  i.  e.,  the  poor  of  the  land,  and 
a  few  captains  of  small  military  forces.  Now,  the 
Lord  proposes  to  destroy  this  rag-tag  remnant,  out  of 
which  “a  small  number  shall  escape.”  Now,  let  us  take 
our  bearings. 

1.  We  have  in  this  company,  which  has  come  down 
into  Egypt  from  Judea,  “the  King's  daughters.”  Since 
the  plural  form  of  speech  is  used  there  are  at  least  two 
of  them — history  says  there  were  three.  These  are 
the  royal  seed  of  the  house  of  David,  who  are  fleeing 
from  the  slayers  of  their  father,  Zedekiah,  the  last 
King  of  the  house  of  Judah,  and  the  slayers  of  their 
brothers,  the  sons  of  Zedekiah  and  princes  of  Judah. 

2.  In  company  with  these  princesses  is  Jeremiah, 
their  grandfather,  whom  also  the  Lord  has  chosen  to 
do  the  work  of  building  and  planting.  In  the  prin¬ 
cesses  the  prophet  has  royal  material  with  which  to 
build  and  plant. 

3.  In  company  with  Jeremiah  and  his  royal  charge 
we  have  Baruch,  his  faithful  scribe,  whom  expert  gene¬ 
alogists  prove  to  have  been  uncle  to  the  royal  seed. 


198  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

4.  God  has  promised  that  the  lives  of  this  “small 
number  ”  only  five  or  six  at  most,  shall  be  to  them  a 
prey  (reward)  in  all  lands  whither  they  shall  go. 

5.  Prior  to  this,  at  a  time  when  Jeremiah  was  greatly 

troubled,  when  in  his  great  distress  and  anguish  of 
heart  he  cried  unto  the  Lord,  saying:  "Remember  me, 
visit  me,  and  revenge  me  of  my  persecutors” ;  then  the 
Lord  said,  "Verily  it  shall  be  well  with  thy  remnant; 
verily  I  will  cause  the  enemy  to  entreat  thee  well  in  the 
time  of  evil  and  in  the  time  of  affliction.  *  *  * 

And  I  will  make  thee  to  pass  with  thine  enemies  into  a 
land  which  thou  knowest  not.”  (Jer.  15  :  11-14.) 

Note  the  expression  "thy  remnant,”  i.  e.,  Jeremiah’s, 
for  it  is  he  who  must  build  and  plant  that  royal  seed. 
Understand  also  that  Jeremiah  and  his  little  remnant 
were  well  acquainted  with  Egypt,  and  since  it  was  well 
known  to  them  it  could  not  have  been  their  final  desti¬ 
nation.  Hence,  this  escaping  royal  remnant  must  jour- 
hey  back  to  Judea,  and  then — whither? 

“Into  an  unknown  land!”  Why?  "For  out  of  Jerusa¬ 
lem  shall  go  forth  a  remnant,  and  they  that  escape  out 
of  Mount  Zion  (on  which  were  the  royal  dwellings). 
The  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  will  do  this.  And  the 
remnant  that  is  escaped  of  the  house  of  Judah  (royal 
line)  shall  again  take  root  downward  and  bear  fruit 
upward.”  (Isa.  37:32-31.) 

Hear  it!  O  hear  it!  Ye  men  of  earth,  HEAR  IT! 
"Shall  again  take  root  downward” — be  planted !  "and 
bear  fruit  upward” — be  builded!  Where?  God  should 
telL  us  where  in  His  Word,  and  he  does. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  PRINCE  OF  THE  SCARLET  THREAD. 

While  we  leave  our  little  royal  “remnant”  to  make 
their  escape,  let  us  look  about  and  out  into  the  fields  of 
revelation  and  history,  to  see  if  we  can  find  some  royal 
prince  to  whom  shall  be  wedded  one  of  these  princesses 
who  are  fleeing  into  that  “unknown  land,”  where  the 
Lord  has  promised  that  those  who  compose  this  rem¬ 
nant  shall  again  take  root  and  grow. 

While  we  are  making  this  search  it  will  be  well  to 
remember  that  “God  gave  the  kingdom  over  Israel  to 
David  forever,”  and  that  “Israel”  is  not  the  name  of  the 
Jewish  nation,  but  that  it  is  the  name  of  the  ten- 
tribed  kingdom,  which  had  been  driven  into  “an  un¬ 
known  land”  about  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  years 
prior  to  the  flight  of  this  remnant. 

Let  us  also  remember  that  the  Sceptre,  with  all  that 
belongs  to  it,  was  promised  distinctively  to  the  Judo- 
Davidic  family,  and  not  to  the  kingdom  which  bore  the 
name  of  Judah,  a  name  which,  together  with  its  cor¬ 
rupted  form,  Jews,  is  the  Biblical  historic  name  of  the 
Jewish  nation. 

Judah,  as  we  will  remember,  was  the  representa¬ 
tive  name  of  that  nation  which  was  composed  of  the 
smaller  portion  of  Israel's  seed,  because  it  was  to 
Judah's  blessing  and  standard  that  the  people  gathered 
who  afterward  became  separated  from  the  rest  of 


199 


200  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Israel,  and  were  known  as  the  Jews.  They  are  the  de¬ 
scendants  of  these  people  who  are  still  known  as 
Jews. 

On  the  other  hand,  according  to  a  prophecy  which 
shall  be  cited  in  due  time,  the  descendants  of  the  ten- 
tribed  kingdom,  which  had  been  cast  out  into  an  un¬ 
known  land,  were  to  be  called  by  another  name. 

The  fact  that  they  were  not  to  be  known  by  the 
name  of  Israel  cannot  annul  the  prophecy  which  was 
uttered  by  Abijah,  as  he  stood  upon  a  certain  mount  in 
Ephraim  and  said :  “Hear  me,  thou  Jeroboam,  and  all 
Israel ;  ought  ye  not  to  know  that  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel  gave  the  kingdom  over  Israel  to  David  forever, 
even  to  him  and  to  his  sons,  by  a  covenant  of  salt  ?” 

Do  you  ask,  “Is  it  possible  that  this  little  royal  rem¬ 
nant  shall  have  gone  to  that  same  unknown  land  to 
which  they  of  the  ten  tribes  had  previously  gone? 
Was  it  among  that  people  that  this  remnant  was 
planted,  and  over  whom  the  preserved  sceptre  held  its 
sway?”  Let  us  examine  the  Scriptural  evidence. 

Ezekiel  is  believed  to  have  lived  contemporane¬ 
ously  with  Jeremiah.  By  taking  the  testimony  of 
chronology,  together  with  the  concurrence  of  many 
historic  events,  all  may  know  that  this  is  true. 

Jeremiah  states  historic  events  and  utters  prophecies 
which  relate  chiefly  to  Judah,  but  gives  only  a  little  of 
that  which  pertains  to  Israel;  while  Ezekiel  does  the 
reverse  of  this,  saying  much  that  concerns  Israel  and 
but  little  that  pertains  to  Judah. 

Still,  what  he  does  say  concerning  the  destroyed 
commonwealth  of  Judah,  the  plucked-up  Sceptre  and 
the  overturned  throne  of  that  royal  family  whose 


The  Prince  of  the  Scarlet  Thread  201 

history  we  are  studying,  does  most  undoubtedly  furnish 
evidence  which  connects  the  remnant  seed  and  their 
monarchical  belongings  with  the  exiled  house  of  Israel, 
which  has  taken  root,  and  whose  people  are  gathering 
strength  in  a  country  the  location  and  geographical 
character  of  which  are  described  by  the  prophets,  and 
which,  at  a  time  prior  to  the  prophecies,  was  an  un¬ 
known  and  an  uninhabited  wilderness. 

Jeremiah  tells  us  that  “Zedekiah  was  one  and 
twenty  years  old  when  he  began  to  reign,  and  he 
reigned  eleven  years  in  Jerusalem.” 

At  a  period  which  synchronizes  with  the  time  when 
Zedekiah  had  reigned  for  six  years,  Ezekiel  declares 
that  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  him  saying  that 
he  should  prophesy  against  Judah  and  Jerusalem,  con¬ 
cerning  the  King  of  Babylon,  who  would  come  up 
against  them  with  the  swrord,  and  that  at  that  time 
he  should  set  battering  rams  against  the  gates  of  the 
city,  cast  up  a  mount  and  build  a  fort.  The  result  of 
this  would  be  that  the  city  would  be  taken. 

At  the  same  time  the  message  from  the  Lord,  which 
was  delivered  by  the  prophet  Ezekiel  to  Zedekiah,  was  : 

And  thou,  profane,  wicked  Prince  of  Israel,  whose 
day  is  come,  when  (your)  iniquity  shall  have  an  end, 
thus  saith  the  Lord  God :  Remove  the  diadem,  and  take 
off  the  crown;  this  shall  not  be  (upon)  the  same; 
exalt  him  that  is  low,  and  abase  him  that  is  high.  I 
will  overturn,  overturn,  overturn  it ;  and  it  shall  be  no 
more  (overturned)  until  he  come  whose  right  it  is;  and 
I  will  give  it  to  him.” — Ezek.  21 :  22-27. 

We  have  no  disposition  to  make  an  attempt  to  give 
words  a  meaning  which  they  will  not  bear,  nor  to 


202  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

attach  any  signification  to  them  which  the  context 
does  not  clearly  indicate;  but  these  words  do  most 
certainly  give  us  to  understand  that  there  is  a  per¬ 
son,  a  male  heir  of  the  royal  line,  who  is  to  be  the 
immediate  successor  of  Zedekiah  to  the  Davidic  throne. 
Also,  these  words  teach  that  the  crown  is  to  be  taken 
from  off  the  head  of  Zedekiah,  upon  whom  it  rested  at 
the  time  when  this  prophecy  was  given,  and  placed 
upon  the  head  of  this  person  whom  the  Scriptures  des¬ 
ignate  as  “him  that  is  low.” 

These  words  further  teach  that  when  the  royal 
diadem,  the  emblem  of  kingly  power  and  exaltation, 
is  taken  from  the  one  and  placed  upon  the  head  of  that 
other  person,  that  then  the  one  who  was  previously 
high  is  abased  and  brought  low,  but  that  the  one  who 
hitherto  was  low  is  then  exalted  and  made  high.  This 
is  essentially  so,  because  the  two  men  shall  have  then 
exchanged  places. 

Furthermore,  the  expression,  “This  shall  not  be  the 
same,”  taken  together  with  the  prophecy  concerning 
the  overturns,  leads  us  to  expect  a  change  of  dynasty, 
at  least  on  the  side  of  the  male  line,  and  also  a  change 
in  the  territorial  or  geographical  situation.  This  is  still 
more  apparent  when  we  note  that  there  are  to  be 
three  overturns,  and  that  after  the  third  overturn  shall 
have  been  accomplished,  there  are  to  be  no  more  until 
another  certain  person  comes.  Also,  after  the  diadem 
has  been  removed  from  the  head  of  the  prince  who  wore 
it  at  the  time  of  the  first  overturn  and  placed  upon  the 
head  of  “him  that  is  low,”  it  is  to  be  noted  that  then 
either  this  man,  who  is  the  person  understood  as  the 
antecedent  of  the  personal  pronoun,  “Him,”  or  his  lin- 


The  Prince  of  the  Scarlet  Thread  203 

eage,  is  to  be  dethroned  by  the  Lord  in  favor  of  that 
other  person,  who  is  designated  as  “he  whose  right  it 
is,”  to  whom  it  shall  then  be  given. 

The  next  question  for  us  to  settle  is,  Who  is  this 
legally  possible  person,  that  is  to  be  the  successor  of 
Zedekiah,  who  is  spoken  of  as  “him  that  is  low”?  for 

he  is  spoken  of  as  “low”  only  in  the  sense  of  non¬ 
ruling. 

By  consulting  the  thirty-eighth  chapter  of  Genesis 
we  will  find  a  record  of  the  conception  and  birth  of 
twin  boys,  whose  conception  and  birth  were  both  ac¬ 
companied  by  such  extraordinary  circumstances  that 
the  question  of  their  parentage  is  forever  settled ;  for 
Tamar,  the  mother,  did  willingly  stoop  in  order  that 
she  might  conquer  Judah,  the  father,  and  compel  him 
to  do  justice  by  her. 

The  never-to-be-forgotten  manner  in  which  Judah 
was  forced  to  acknowledge  that  those  children  were  his 
offspring  and  that  their  mother  was  more  righteous 
than  he,  does  most  certainly  place  the  fact  of  their  royal 
lineage  beyond  the  possibility  of  cavil. 

When  the  mother  was  in  travail  and  after  the  mid¬ 
wife  had  been  summoned,  there  was  the  presentation 
of  a  hand.  Then,  for  some  reason  either  human  or 
Divine,  the  midwife  knew  that  twins  were  in  the  womb. 
So,  in  order  that  she  might  know  and  be  able  to  testify 
which  was  born  first,  she  fastened  a  scarlet  thread  on 
the  outstretched  hand.  Since  Judah’s  was  the  royal 
family  in  Israel,  and  the  law  of  primogeniture  prevailed 
among  them,  it  was  essential  that  this  distinction  should 
be  made  so  that  at  the  proper  time  the  first  born  or 
eldest  son  might  ascend  the  throne. 


204  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

After  the  scarlet  thread  had  been  made  secure  on 
the  little  hand  it  was  drawn  back  and  the  brother  was 
born  first.  Upon  seeing  this  the  midwife  exclaimed: 
“How  hast  thou  broken  forth?”  Then,  seemingly,  she 
was  filled  with  the  spirit  of  prophecy  and  said:  “This 
breach  be  upon  thee,”  and  because  of  this  prophetic  ut¬ 
terance  he  was  given  the  name  of  Pharez,  i.  e.,  “A 
Breach.”  Afterward  his  brother,  who  had  the  scarlet 
thread  upon  his  hand,  was  born,  and  his  name  was 
called  Zarah,  i.  e.,  “The  seed.” 

The  very  fact  that  Pharez  was  really  born  first  would 
exalt  him,  and  it  eventually  did  exalt  his  heirs,  to  the 
throne  of  Israel,  for  King  David  was  a  son  of  Judah 
through  the  line  of  Pharez.  But  just  so  surely  as  this 
son  of  Judah  and  father  of  David,  who  was  the  first 
one  of  the  line  to  sit  upon  that  throne,  was  given  the 
name  of  Pharez,  just  so  surely  must  we  expect — with 
that  little  hand  of  the  scarlet  thread  waving  prophet¬ 
ically  before  them — that  a  breach  should  occur  some¬ 
where  along  that  family  line. 

That  breach  did  occur.  We  are  now  considering  its 
history  and  are  well  into  its  transition  period,  which 
began  when  the  Lord  God  sanctified  Jeremiah,  sent  him 
into  the  world,  and  gave  him  his  commission  to  pull 
down  and  pluck  up  the  exalted  Pharez  line,  and  after¬ 
ward  to  build  and  plant  anew  the  sceptre,  throne  and 
kingdom;  while  at  about  the  same  time  the  word  of 
the  Lord  came  to  Ezekiel  and  moved  him  to  predict  the 
removal  of  the  crown  from  the  head  of  the  one  who 
is  high,  a  proceeding  which  not  only  involves  the  trans¬ 
fer  of  the  royal  diadem  to  another  head,  but  also  an 
overturning;  and  when  both  the  transfer  and  the 


The  Prince  of  the  Scarlet  Thread  205 

overturning  shall  have  been  accomplished,  then  the 
one  who  was  low  will  have  been  exalted  and  the  exalted 
one  will  have  been  brought  low. 

The  immediate  posterity  of  this  “Prince  of  the  Scar¬ 
let  Thread”  is  given  as  follows:  “And  the  sons  of 
Zarah ;  Zimri  and  Ethan  and  Heman  and  Calcol  and 
Dara,  five  of  them  in  all.”  (1  Chron.  2:6.)  Thus  the 
direct  posterity  of  Zarah  was  five,  while  that  of  Pha- 
rez  was  only  two. 

For  the  reason  that  our  Lord  sprang  out  of  Judah, 
through  the  line  of  Pharez,  the  unbroken  genealogy  of 
that  family  is  given  in  the  sacred  records;  but  the 
genealogy  of  the  Zarah  family  is  given  only  inter¬ 
mittently.  One  thing  is  made  quite  clear  in  the  Bible 
concerning  the  sons  of  Zarah,  and  that  is,  that  they 
were  famous  for  their  intelligence  and  wisdom,  for  it 
was  only  the  great  God-given  wisdom  of  Solomon 
which  is  declared  to  have  risen  above  theirs,  as  is  seen 
by  the  following :  And  God  gave  Solomon  wisdom  and 
understanding  *  *  *  and  Solomon’s  wisdom  ex¬ 
celled  the  wisdom  of  all  the  children  of  the  East,  for 
he  was  wiser  than  all  men— than  Ethan  the  Ezrahite, 
and  Heman,  and  Calcol,  and  Dara.  (1  Kings  4:29 
31-) 

Furthermore,  we  find  that  two  of  them,  Ethan  and 
Heman,  were  also  noted  singers,  as  we  find  by  consult¬ 
ing  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  First  Kings  and  the  nine¬ 
teenth  verse.  By  noting  the  titles  of  the  eighty-eighth 
and  eighty-ninth  Psalms  we  also  see  that  one  of  them 
was  composed  by  “Heman  the  Ezrahite,”  and  that  the 
other  was  the  song  of  “Ethan  the  Ezrahite.” 

It  is  not  at  all  unlikely  and  would  be  but  natural  that 


206  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

the  Zimri  who  overthrew  Baasha,  the  third  King  of 
Israel  (not  Judah),  belonged  to  the  posterity  of  Zimri, 
the  first-born  son  of  Zarah,  son  of  Judah  and  twin 
brother  of  Pharez.  For,  as  we  have  shown,  the  seed 
of  Jacob  were  at  that  time  divided  into  two  kingdoms, 
with  the  posterity  of  Pharez  on  the  throne  ruling  over 
the  kingdom  of  Judah.  How  natural  it  would  be  for 
the  then  living  members  of  that  family  to  think,  and 
to  say :  “This  is  the  long  foretold  breach  for  which  we 
have  been  taught  to  look.  This  is  the  time  to  assert  our 
royal  prerogatives,  take  the  throne,  and  rule  over  this 
the  house  of  Israel." 

It  would  be  but  natural  for  another  reason,  namely, 
there  has  always  been  an  attempt  to  fulfill,  in  the  nat¬ 
ural,  every  promise  that  the  Lord  God  has  made  to  his 
chosen  people.  He  promised  Abraham  and  Sarah  that 
they  should  have  a  son.  In  order  that  they  might  ac¬ 
complish  this  end  Sarah  gave  and  Abraham  took, 
Ilagar  her  handmaid,  and  the  result  was  Ishmael. 

Before  Jacob  and  Esau  were  born  the  Birthright  was 
promised  to  the  younger.  Jacob,  the  younger,  under¬ 
took  to  accomplish  this  in  the  natural  by  taking  unjust 
advantage  of  his  brother  and  deceiving  his  father. 

So  with  Joseph :  after  God  had  promised  the  Birth¬ 
right  to  him  he  undertook  in  the  natural  to  take  ad¬ 
vantage  of  the  blindness  of  Jacob. 

Nevertheless,  God  in  his  own  good  time  gave  Sarah 
strength  to  conceive ;  settled  with  repentant,  wrestling 
Jacob,  and  outwitted  manceuvering  Joseph. 

So  now,  in  his  own  good  time,  he  has  also  made 
the  predicted  breach,  which  shall  result  in  the  bringing 
down  of  the  line  of  Pharez,  “the  high  ”  and  which 
shall  exalt  the  prosperity  of  Zarah,  “ the  low  ” 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  PRINCE  OF  THE  SCARLET  THREAD”  AND  "THE 

ROYAL  REMNANT”  UNITED. 

In  connection  with  the  record  of  the  fact  that  the 
“high,”  or  ruling,  Prince  of  Judah  has  been  uncrowned 
and  dethroned,  and  that  the  “low”  has  been  crowned 
and  placed  on  the  throne,  we  find  that  a  royal  prince,  a 
royal  princess  and  the  ten-tribed  kingdom  of  Israel  are 
all  together  in  the  same  country,  also  that  this  royal 
pair  are  united  and  placed  on  a  throne,  and  are  ruling 
over  the  kingdom  of  Israel. 

These  facts  are  recorded  in  the  seventeenth  chapter 
of  Ezekiel  in  the  form  of  a  riddle  and  a  parable,  which, 
together  with  their  explanation,  make  up  the  subject 
matter  of  the  entire  chapter,  which  opens  as  follows : 
And  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me  saying,  Son 
o  man  put  forth  a  riddle,  and  speak  a  parable  unto  the 
house  of  Israel ;  and  say,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  etc.” 
The  Hebrew  word  which  is  here  translated  riddle  is 
defined  as  “A  puzzle ;  hence  a  trick,  conundrum,  dark 
saying,  hard  question,”  etc.  These  definitions  corre¬ 
spond  to  our  English  thought  of  an  enigma,  or  some¬ 
thing  proposed  which  is  to  be  solved  by  conjecture ;  a 
puzzling  question ;  or  an  ambiguous  proposition.  A 
parable,  on  the  other  hand,  is  more  like  a  fable  or  an 
a  egorical  representation  of  something  which  is  real  in 
Its  relation  to  human  life  and  thought,  and  is  repre¬ 
sented  by  something  real  in  nature. 


207 


208  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Thus  the  prophet  in  his  introduction  prepares  us  to 
expect  that  the  words  which  follow  shall  be  enigmat¬ 
ical  ;  and,  since  the  Lord  commanded  him  to  use  this 
veiled  language,  we  must  adjust  ourselves  accordingly, 
remembering  that  "it  is  the  glory  of  God  to  conceal  a 
thing;  but  the  honor  of  kings  to  search  out  a  matter.” 
So,  then,  let  us,  in  a  spirit  that  shall  be  worthy  of 
kings,  search  out  the  matter  of  this  riddle,  which  we 
will  notice  is  put  forth  unto  the  house  of  Israel,  and  not 
to  the  Jewish  people. 

The  first  part  of  the  riddle  is  given,  as  follows: 
“Thus  saith  the  Lord  God :  A  great  eagle  with  great 
wings,  long-winged,  full  of  feathers,  which  had  divers 
colors,  came  unto  Lebanon,  and  took  the  highest 
branch  of  the  cedar;  he  cropped  off  the  top  of  his 
young  twigs,  and  carried  it  to  a  land  of  traffick ;  he  set 
it  in  a  city  of  merchants.” 

A  few  moments’  reflection  will  convince  us  that, 
whatever  else  it  may  mean,  the  great  eagle  is  intended 
to  represent  a  means  of  transportation ;  for  the  declara¬ 
tion  is  that  “it  came”  to  a  certain  place,  “and  took” 
something  which  was  in  that  place  to  which  it  came, 
and  “carried  it  into”  some  other  “land.” 

We  are  also  told  that  this  means  of  transportation 
came  to  Lebanon.  Since  Lebanon  is  a  mountain  range 
in  Palestine,  then  the  place  to  which  it  came,  and  from 
which  it  departed  is,  most  certainly,  Palestine. 

That  which  was  taken  away  is  declared  to  be  “young 
twigs,”  which  were  taken  from  “the  highest  branch  of 
the  cedar”  of  Lebanon.  Since  the  personal  pronoun 
“his  ”  is  used,  having  “the  cedar”  for  its  antecedent,  it 


Scarlet  Thread*’  and  “Royal  Remnant'’  209 

must  represent  a  person.  This  person  is  of  the  mas¬ 
culine  gender,  and  father  of  the  “ young  twigs” j  hence, 
these  young  scions  are  also  persons. 

Furthermore,  it  is  a  well  authenticated  fact  that  the 
cedar  of  Lebanon  is  a  symbol  of  royalty.  Since  the 
riddle  contains  within  itself  such  abundant  evidence 
of  this  fact,  which  will  be  made  clear  as  we  proceed,  we 
will  not  need  to  go  elsewhere  for  proof. 

Again,  inasmuch  as  it  is  true  of  twigs  that  they 
must  be  set,  grafted,  or  planted,  in  order  that  they  may 
grow  and  bear  fruit,  or  increase,  so  also  it  is  declared 
of  these  young  royal  scions  that  they  were  “set.”  The 
place  also  where  they  were  set  was  certainly  well 
adapted  for  increase  of  population,  or  subjects ;  that  is, 
“a  city  of  merchants,  in  a  land,  of  trafHck.” 

The  second  part  of  this  riddle  reads  as  follows  :  “He 
took  also  of  the  seed  of  the  land,  and  planted  it  in  a 
fruitful  field ;  he  placed  it  by  great  waters,  and  set  it  as 
a  willow  tree.  And  it  grew,  and  became  a  spreading 
vine  of  low  stature,  whose  branches  turned  toward 
him,  and  the  roots  thereof  were  under  him ;  so  it  be¬ 
came  a  vine,  and  shot  forth  sprigs.” 

The  seed  of  the  land”  is  most  certainly  the  people 
of  the  land.  The  land  from  which  “he  took”  this  seed, 
or  people,  is  Palestine ;  and  the  people  of  Palestine  are 
distinctly  Israelites.  And  numerically,  hence  pre¬ 
eminently,  they  are  always  the  ten-tribed  kingdom  of 
Israel. 

So  these  people  who  had  been  taken  out  of  their 
own  land  were  “planted”  in  another,  and  that  other 
has  become  to  them  “a  fruitful  Held”  which  is  located 
“hy  great  waters.”  Not  by  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 


210  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

or  the  Great  Sea,  as  it  is  called  in  Scripture.  But  the 
new  home  of  this  removed  people  is  “by  great  waters.” 
In  their  new  home  Israel  “grew  and  became  a  spread¬ 
ing  vine.”  And  since  this  riddle  is  dealing  with  the 
breach — as  we  shall  see — in  which  the  “high”  and 
the  "W’  princes  of  the  royal  house  are  to  exchange 
places,  we  are  not  surprised  that  this  spreading  or  out- 
reaching  vine  is  said  to  be  of  “low”  stature,  nor  that 
its  branches  and  sprigs  turned  toward  him,  or  that  its 
roots,  or  growing  power,  was  under  him.  If  under 
him,  then  he  was  over  them,  i.  e.,  their  ruler. 

This  riddle  further  says :  “There  was  also  another 
great  eagle  with  great  wings  and  many  feathers;  and 
behold  this  vine  did  bend  her  roots  toward  him,  and 
shot  forth  her  branches  toward  him,  that  he  might 
water  it  by  the  furrows  of  her  plantation.  It  was 
planted  in  a  good  soil  by  great  waters,  that  it  might 
bring  forth  branches,  and  that  it  might  bear  fruit,  that 
it  might  be  a  goodly  vine.”  Here  we  have  the  record 
of  the  arrival  of  another  passenger,  who  also  came  to 
that  land  of  “good  soil,”  which  is  by  “great  waters” 
and  who  was  brought  there  by  the  same  means  of 
transportation,  i.  e.,  a  “great  eagle  with  great  wings,” 
as  that  which  brought  the  royal  sons.  This  was  not 
the  same  eagle,  but  “another”  eagle,  or  ship,  for  we 
believe  this  means  of  transportation  to  have  been  the 
ships  of  Dan ;  since  it  is  declared  that  “Dan  abode  in 
ships,”  and  that  “they  have  taken  cedars  from  Lebanon 
to  make  masts”  for  their  ships.  We  also  know  that 
the  seaport  of  Tyre,  in  Palestine,  was  the  port  into 
which  they  must  come  for  the  cedars  of  Lebanon. 


“Scarlet  Thread”  and  “Royal  Remnant”  21 1 


Yes,  for  the  cedars  of  Lebanon! ! !  be  they  used  as 
masts  for  their  ships,  or  as  types  of  their  royal  princes. 

The  tribe  of  Dan  also  used  the  eagle  as  their 
standard,  and  they  are  said  to  have  used  great  carved 
eagles  with  outstretched  wings  as  the  figureheads  on 
the  bows  of  their  vessels.  Also  it  is  a  common  thing  to 
symbolize  ships  which  are  under  full  sail  as  flying 
birds ;  and  in  this  riddle  the  “long  wings”  represent  the 
long  sails,  which,  like  wings  carry  the  “great”  ship — 
the  large  bird,  or  eagle  ship — and  her  passengers  to 
the  land  of  traffic. 

We  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  object 
which  the  writer  has  in  view  in  mentioning  the  com¬ 
ing  of  this  second  ship  is,  that  we  may  guess  that 
another  important  personage  had  arrived;  for,  after 
mentioning  the  ship's  arrival,  his  next  expression  is : 
Behold,  this  vine  did  bend  her  roots  toward  him.” 

Thus  we  learn  that  the  person  who  came  in  the 
second  ship  was  a  woman,  and  that  her  inclination  and 
desire  was  toward  the  prince  who  had  preceded  her 
into  the  same  land. 

Then,  still  under  the  similitude  of  a  vine,  and  that 
which  is  essential  to  its  life  and  growth,  viz.,  land 
and  water,  there  follows  that  which  clearly  indicates 
a  unity  of  life,  claims  and  purpose.  In  fact,  there  was 
a  marriage  between  the  “her**  and  the  “him”  of  this 
riddle,  the  result  of  which  was  that  she,  too,  was  “set” 
or  planted”  in  that  land  of  a  “goodly  vine”  albeit  that 
goodly  vine  is  of  “Low  Stature” ;  and  bore  “fruit”  That 
is,  offspring. 

Since  it  is  true  that  a  prince  can  wed  only  with  a 
princess,  it  will  be  well  for  us,  at  this  juncture,  to 


212  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

remember  that  we  left  Jeremiah  and  his  little  royal 
remnant  of  king’s  daughters  on  their  way  to  a  land 
which  was  strange,  or  unknown,  to  them;  yet  to  a 
place  where  this  preserved  seed  of  David’s  line  was 
to  be  “planted,”  again  “take  root,”  and  “bear  fruit.” 

Now,  it  is  a  fact  that  the  man  and  the  woman  of  this 
riddle  were  united.  Also  it  is  a  fact  that  the  woman 
was  “planted”  in  that  land  of  good  soil,  into  which  she 
did  “take  root,”  and  these  things  were  accomplished  in 
order  that  she  “might  bear  fruit.”  In  other  words,  that 
which  hitherto  has  been  the  subject  of  prophecy  con¬ 
cerning  Jeremiah’s  commission,  and  concerning  his 
royal  charge,  is  now  recorded  as  a  matter  of  history. 
The  analogy  is  complete. 

Still  the  explanation  of  this  riddle  makes  all  these 
things  so  plain  that  we  are  not  left  to  conjecture.  For 
at  the  eleventh  verse  the  prophet  says :  “Moreover, 
the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying,  Say  now 
to  the  rebellious  house,  Know  ye  not  what  these  things 
mean  ?  Tell  them,  Behold  the  king  of  Babylon  is  come 
to  Jerusalem,  and  hath  taken  the  king  thereof  and  the 
princes  thereof,  and  led  them  to  Babylon.” 

The  king  of  Babylon  was  Nebuchadnezzar,  as  we 
know.  The  king  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  princes  there¬ 
of,  were,  as  we  also  know,  Zedekiah  and  his  sons. 

Then  follows  a  brief  account  of  Zedekiah’s  treach¬ 
ery  with  the  king  of  Babylon,  how  he  rebelled  against 
him,  and  sent  to  the  king  of  Egypt  for  help. 

Then  comes  a  prophecy  concerning  the  fact  that 
King  Zedekiah  shall  die  in  Babylon. 

After  this  comes  the  prophetic  account  of  that  band 


“Scarlet  Thread”  and  “Royal  Remnant”  213 

of  fugitives  going  to  Egypt,  and  the  declaration  that 
they  should  fall  by  the  sword,  etc.,  all  of  which  we  have 
given  in  detail. 

Rut  the  outcome  of  it  all,  and  that  which  pertains  to 
our  immediate  subject,  begins  again  with  the  twenty- 
second  verse.  The  prophet,  still  using  the  symbols  of 
the  riddle,  explains  as  follows : 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  will  take  of  the  highest 
branch  of  the  high  cedar,  and  will  set  it.”  This  is  the 
royal  prince  who  came  in  Ship  Number  1.  He  then 
proceeds  to  say:  “I  will  crop  off  from  the  top  of  his 
young  twigs  a  tender  one,  and  will  plant  it  upon  a 
high  mountain  and  eminent.”  This  is  the  second  im¬ 
portation  of  royal  branches,  but  this  time  it  is  the  “top” 
or  one  whose  right  it  is  to  rule,  a  “tender  one.”  That 
is,  it  is  a  tender  young  girl,  the  topmost  one  of  the 
young  twigs  that  came  in  Ship  Number  2. 

Where  was  she  planted?  “In  the  mountain  of  the 
height  of  Israel,”  is  the  Divine  reply.  “What, 
Israel?”  Yes,  Israel,  national  Israel.  Israel  as  a 
nation  ,  but  not  Jewish-Israel,  for  that  kingdom  is  over¬ 
thrown  ;  the  people  are  gone  into  the  Babylonish  cap¬ 
tivity  ;  the  king,  with  his  eyes  put  out,  is  doomed  to  die 
in  chains  in  a  Babylonish  prison ;  the  princes  are  dead ; 
the  king  s  daughters  have  escaped  out  of  Jerusalem ; 
and  the  topmost  one  of  these  tender  twigs  is  planted 

here  in  the  height  of  the  mountains  of  Israel,  i.  e.,  the 
THRONE. 

And  it  (that  which  was  planted)  shall  bring  forth 
boughs,  and  bear  fruit,  and  be  a  goodly  cedar :  and 
under  it  shall  dwell  all  fowl  of  every  wingj  in  the 
shadow  of  the  branches  thereof  shall  they  dwell.”  The 


214  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

purport  of  this  is  so  glaringly  plain  that  the  most 
obtuse  mind  can  see  that  it  refers  to  the  mixed  popula¬ 
tion  which  Israel,  of  necessity,  must  have  gathered 
while  being  sifted  through  other  countries. 

The  prophet  further  declares:  “And  all  the  trees 
of  the  field,. i.  e.,  all  the  people  of  that  kingdom  of 
Israel,  “shall  know  that  I,  the  Lord,  have  brought 
down  the  high  tree,  have  exalted  the  low  tree,  have 
dried  up  the  green  tree,  and  have  made  the  dry  tree 
to  flourish.  I  the  Lord  have  spoken  and  done  it.” 
(Ezek.  17:24.) 

“Done  what?”  Brought  down  the  high  from  the 
throne,  and  exalted  the  low  to  the  throne. 

“What  else?”  Made  the  long-foretold  breach,  re¬ 
membered  his  covenant  with  David,  and  kept  faith 
with  Jeremiah. 

For,  since  these  trees  are  the  royal  cedars,  and  the 
male  heirs  of  the  former  reigning  line  have  been  de¬ 
throned  in  favor  of  him  that  was  low,  who  also  is  the 
“spreading  vine  of  low  stature”  of  the  riddle,  and 
who  is  now  exalted  by  being  enthroned,  and  since  a 
royal  princess  found  her  way  to  the  land  of  the  “vine 
of  low  stature ”  and  united  her  interests  with  his,  “that 
he  might  water  the  furrows  of  her  plantation,”  we  are 
safe  in  saying  that  God  has  taken  the  crown  from  off 
the  head  of  Zedekiah,  the  high,  who  was  of  the  Pharez 
line,  and  has  placed  it  on  the  head  of  a  prince  of  Zarah, 
the  low,  to  whom  Zedekiah’s  daughter,  the  heir  to 
crown  and  sceptre,  made  her  way,  in  company  with 
Jeremiah,  who  had  charge  of  the  royal  paraphernalia, 


“Scarlet  Thread”  and  “Royal  Remnant”  215 

and  who  was  divinely  commissioned  to  plant  and  build 
anew  the  plucked-up  and  overthrown  kingdom  of 
David. 

Christ  came  through  the  family  line  of  Judah,  David, 
Josiah  and  Jeconiah,  not  through  the  breach;  the 
breach  ran  through  Judah,  David,  Josiah  and  Zede- 
kiah.  So,  the  two  branches  of  the  Judo-Pharez-David 
line  diverge  at  Josiah.  One  of  these  lines  eventually 
gave  birth  to  the  Messiah ;  and,  as  we  shall  prove,  the 
other  line,  after  having  been  united  to  the  brother  line 
of  the  Scarlet  Thread,  are  still  holding  that  preserved 
throne  and  sceptre,  and  raising  up  seed  unto  their 
fathers,  Judah  and  David ;  so  that  there  shall  never  be 
a  lack  of  some  one  of  David's  children  to  sit  upon  that 
throne  as  rulers  over  the  seed  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and 
Jacob,  and  that  the  sceptre  may  not  depart  from  Judah 
till  Shiloh  come. 

Thus  it  is  that  one  of  these  lines  holds  that  sceptre, 
and  wears  that  crown  as  a  fact,  but  the  Judo-David 
house  has  a  greater  son  to  whom  they  belong  by 
“right.”  When  he  comes,  as  Shiloh,  God  will  give 
it  to  him,  for  unto  him  shall  the  gathering  of  the 
people  be.  At  that  time  the  breaches  will  be  healed, 
and  he  shall  be  called  “The  Restorer  of  the  Breach.” 

The  question  now  is  to  find  where  that  sceptre  and 
throne  are  today,  for  we  are  not  only  confronted  with 
the  question  of  Lost  Israel,”  or  the  “ Lost  Birthright ” 
which  involves  the  whole  house  of  Joseph  and  the  many 
nations  into  which  they  were  to  develop ;  but  we  are 
also  confronted  with  the  question  of  the  lost  sceptre 
which  involves  the  Zedekiah  branch  of  the  house  of 
David  and  all  its  Heraldic  Blazonry. 


PART  THIRD. 


THE  VEIL  LIFTED  FROM  THE  ABRAHAMIC 

NATIONS. 


“If  I  have  told  you  of  earthly  things,  and  ye  believe  not, 
fa>w  shall  ye  believe  if  I  tell  you  of  heavenly  things?” — Jesus. 


CHAPTER  I. 

LOST  ISRAEL  AND  THE  FIRST  OVERTURN  LOCATED. 

The  fact  that  a  great  nation,  composed  of  ten 
tribes  of  the  posterity  of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob, 
is  lost,  or  unidentified,  among  the  nations  of  the 
world  is  well  known  to  enlightened  students  of  the 
Old  Testament.  This  truth  has  been  a  source  of  such 
great  mystery  that  it  has  both  puzzled  the  minds  and 
engaged  the  interest  of  men  to  such  an  extent  that 
many  of  them  who  are  the  intellectual  peers  of  the 
world  have  bent  their  best  energies  to  the  work  of 
hunting  for  this  lost  nation. 

Thus,  for  many  years,  devout  minds  have  been  inves¬ 
tigating  secular  and  sacred  history,  as  well  as  sacred 
prophecy,  which  must  have  become,  or  which  must  yet 
become,  history.  These  men  have  carefully  traced,  not 
only  the  perfectly  connected  outlines,  but  also  the  de¬ 
tails  of  history.  Hence  they  confidently  assert  there 

are  no  missing  links  in  the  chain  of  racial  and  national 
events. 

A  large  per  cent,  of  the  men  who  have  been  thus 
engaged  are  eminent  in  religious,  historic  and  scientific 
research.  Men  who  have  called  to  their  aid  chronol- 
°gy>  astronomy,  archaeology,  ethnology,  pyramidology 
and  philology.  Indeed,  they  have  used  any  and  every 
science  that  could  throw  any  possible  light  upon  this 
subject ;  for  they  have  been  irrepressible  in  their  search 
after  facts,  and  are  men  who  purpose,  for  the  truth’s 

219 


220 


Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

sake,  that  the  Word  of  God  shall  be  forced  to  stand 
every  test,  be  it  ever  so  crucial,  that  its  own  internal 
matter  demands. 

It  is  the  consensus  of  opinion  among  this  class  of 
men,  the  number  of  whom  is  increasing  daily,  that  the 
once-lost  ten  tribes  of  Israel  are  found.  Be  they  right 
or  wrong,  we  are  sure  of  this  one  thing — namely,  that 
there  is  a  race  of  people  here  amidst  other  races,  who 
do  not  know  their  ancestral  origin,  and  who  possess 
all  the  distinguishing  marks  whereby  the  Scriptures 
declare  the  lost  house  of  Joseph  shall  be  found  and 
recognized,  not  only  by  themselves,  but  by  the  rest  of 
the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Still,  be  this  as  it  may,  there  is  nothing  for  us  to  do 
now  but  to  take  up  the  thread  of  our  story,  which  is 
a  “scarlet”  one  and  pertains  to  those  members  of  the 
royal  family  whom  we  left  on  the  throne  of  Israel, 
and  who  were  holding  the  sceptre  of  David  de  facto, 
instead  of  the  one  to  whom  it  belongs  de  jure,  and 
to  whom  the  Lord  will  give  “it,”  and  not  the  Sceptre 
which  belongs  to  some  other  royal  family,  race  or 
kingdom. 

While  dealing  with  the  breach  which  occurred  in 
the  royal  family — which  had  been  prophesied  of,  not 
only  in  the  words  which  were  uttered  by  the  midwife, 
but  by  the  peculiar  manner  of  the  birth  of  the  Judo- 
Tamar  twins,  which  also  had  been  used  as  a  prophetic 
type  or  symbol — we  said  nothing  about  the  three  over¬ 
turns  which  are  a  part  of  Ezekiel’s  prophecy  concern¬ 
ing  some  of  the  chief  details  of  this  same  breach. 

One  reason  for  this  omission  was  that  we  could  not 
give  the  proof  concerning  the  location  of  that  “goodly 


Lost  Israel  and  First  Overturn  Located  221 

land,”  to  which  the  royal  branches,  i.  e.,  Judah’s  prince 
and  David’s  princess,  were  carried,  and  in  which  they 
were  “set,”  without  making  many  points  in  proof  of 
the  present  whereabouts  of  the  still  preserved  seed,  and 
the  perpetuated  Crown,  Throne  and  Sceptre  of  David. 
For  it  was  not  our  desire  to  give  any  such  proof  until 
we  should  first  prove  that  the  building  and  planting 
which  Jeremiah’s  commission  involved,  had  been  ac¬ 
complished,  and  that  the  transfer  of  the  crown  had 
been  made,  that  the  high  branch  had  been  dethroned, 
and  that  another  branch — one  equally  high  by  birth, 
but  “low,”  only  in  the  sense  of  non-ruling,  and  be¬ 
cause  of  the  law  of  primogeniture — had  been  exalted 
by  being  enthroned. 

Now,  since  we  have  shown  that  the  Word  of  God 
emphatically  declares  these  things  to  have  been  accom¬ 
plished,  we  are  prepared  to  show  that  the  three 
prophetic  overturns  took  place,  and  that  they  took  place 
in  connection  with  these  same  royal  ones,  together 
with  their  succession,  whom  we  have  followed  to  a 
new  country. 

It  is  not  possible  to  follow  the  history  of  these  over¬ 
turns,  nor  to  follow  further  the  history  of  that  branch 
of  the  royal  family  which  came  into  power  when  the 
breach  was  made,  and  to  do  so  independent  of  lost 
Israel ;  for  it  was  to  Israel  that  Jeremiah  fled  with  the 
‘king’s  daughters” — the  same  people  with  whom  the 
royal  line  of  Zarah  had  been  for  more  than  a  century 
prior  to  the  time  when  Jeremiah  joined  them,  and 
since  that  time,  nationally  speaking,  the  fortunes  and 
history  of  the  Sceptre  and  Birthright  have  become  one. 

We  must  remember  that  the  place  where  this  prince 


222  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

and  princess  were  planted  was  in  the  “Height  of 
Israel”;  that  it  was  all  the  trees  in  the  field  of  Israel 
that  were  to  know  the  low  tree  had  been  exalted ;  that 
it  was  Israel,  the  dry  tree,  which  is  made  to  flourish, 
and  that  has  been  dry  hitherto  for  lack  of  royal  honors 
and  royal  blood,  but  now  that  a  prince  and  princess  of 
the  blood  are  on  the  throne,  the  once  dry  tree  doth 
flourish,  but  the  former  green  tree,  the  Jewish  king¬ 
dom — not  the  nation — is  dried  up. 

We  must  remember  that  Israel  is  the  ten-tribed 
nation,  the  Birthright  people,  whose  ancient  capital  was 
Samaria,  whose  representative  name  is  Ephraim,  the 
second  son  of  Joseph,  to  whom  pertains  the  birthright ; 
and  that  his  two  sons,  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  were  to 
“grow  into  a  multitude  in  the  midst  of  the  earth,”  that 
they  were  finally  to  separate,  Manasseh  to  become  a 
“great  nation,”  and  Ephraim  to  develop  into  many 
nations,  a  multitude  of  nations,  or  a  company  of  na¬ 
tions,  as  it  is  variously  given. 

The  first  of  these  overturns  is  the  one  whose  history 
we  have  essentially  given  while  dealing  with  the  pres¬ 
ervation  of  King  Zedekiah’s  daughters,  and  is  the 
,overturn  of  the  kingdom  from  Palestine  to  that  goodly 
land,  by  the  side  of  great  waters,  where  it  took  root, 
grew,  flourished  and  became  a  spreading  vine. 

A  ripple  of  holy  joy  went  pulsing  through  our  heart 
when  we  found  that  the  prophet  had,  in  his  riddle,  used 
the  expression,  “spreading  vine”  in  connection  with 
Israel.  The  Hebrew  word,  sawrakh — spreading,  as 
here  used,  is  defined  in  Strong’s  Exhaustive  Concord¬ 
ance,  “to  extend,  to  spread,  to  stretch  exceedingly,  to 
extend  even  to  excess.”  Thus  this  new  country,  this 


Lost  Israel  and  First  Overturn  Located  223 

strange  and  unknown  land,  in  which  the  royal  remnant 
found  the  cast-out  people  of  Israel,  is  the  place  from 
which  it  is  declared  that  they  shall  spread  out,  that 
they  shall  exceedingly  extend  their  borders  and  so 
fulfill  their  national  destiny. 

How  perfectly  this  harmonizes  with  the  promises 
concerning  the  “place”  which  the  Lord  made  to  David 
in  connection  with  the  promises  concerning  the  per¬ 
petuity  of  his  seed,  throne  and  sceptre,  and  which  was 
given  at  the  same  time,  as  follows :  “Moreover,  I  will 
appoint  a  place  for  my  people  Israel,  and  will  plant 
them,  that  they  may  dwell  in  a  place  of  their  own,  and 
move  no  more ;  neither  shall  the  children  of  wickedness 
afflict  them  any  more,  as  beforetime.” 

At  this  juncture  we  feel  impelled,  for  fear  you  will 
not  think  it  out  for  yourselves,  to  point  out  the  fact 
that  the  Lord  had  cast  Israel  out  of  her  land,  and  cast 
her  afar  off ;  and  while  going  to  that  far-off  land  she 
was  to  be  “sifted  through  the  nations  as  corn  is  sifted 
in  a  sieve”;  but  after  they  have  reached  their  far-off 
destination,  their  God-appointed  place,  then  they  are 
to  move  no  more.  For  it  is  in  reference  to  this  same 
casting  out  of  the  Ephraimic  nation  that  Hosea  de¬ 
clares  :  “The  children  of  Israel  shall  abide  many  days 
without  a  king,  and  without  a  prince.”  But  now,  with 
this  prophetic  riddle  fulfilled,  their  king  is  with  them, 
and  the  monarchy  of  Israel  is  flourishing  as  a  green, 
or  living,  tree. 

Our  next  effort  will  be  to  find  this  far-off  land, 
whose  history  has  been  one  of  spreading  out — yea, 
spreading  out  exceedingly,  even  excessively. 


224  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

The  very  fact  that  the  Jews  have  a  record  of  the 
birth,  call  and  commission  of  Jeremiah,  and  the  his¬ 
tory  of  the  execution  of  the  first  part  of  his  commis¬ 
sion,  i.  e.,  the  tearing  down,  rooting  out  and  plucking 
up  of  the  house  and  throne  of  David — this,  considered 
in  the  light  of  the  fact  that  they  can  give  no  account 
of  him  after  his  sudden  disappearance  from  among 
them,  is  evidence  that  he  neither  died  nor  completed 
his  God-ordained  task  among  them.  And  all  the  civ¬ 
ilized  races  of  the  world  know  that  he  did  not  build 
that  seat  of  power,  nor  plant  those  royal  scions  among 

the  Jews. 

But  since  we  find  it  on  record  that  Jeremiah  s  wor  - 
has  been  accomplished,  we  know  that  it  must  have 
been  he  who  did  it ;  even  if  his  name  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  Scriptural  account  of  the  doing  of  it.  For  God 
would  not  permit  some  other  man  to  do  that  work, 
after  having  sanctified  Jeremiah  before  he  was  born, 
and  brought  him  into  the  world  for  that  purpose.  We 
must  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  the  sacred  account  of 
the  building  and  planting  is  in  the  form  of  a  riddle  or 
parable,  and  that  metaphors  instead  of  names  are  used 
for  those  concerned ;  the  high  and  the  low,  the  en¬ 
throned  and  the  dethroned,  the  young  twigs  and  the 
tender  twigs,  the  planted  and  the  planter.  But  we 
must  remember  also  that  the  name  of  Israel,  the 
special  national  name  of  the  ten-tribed  kingdom,  is 
mentioned  as  the  receiver  of  the  planted  and  enthroned 
pair.  And  since  the  historic  testimony  declares  Jere¬ 
miah’s  work  to  have  been  accomplished  in  Israel,  it  is 
only  in  Israel  that  we  may  hope  to  find  evidences  of 

that  fact. 


Lost  Israel  and  First  Overturn  Located  225 

This  necessitates  the  finding  of  Joseph-Israel,  and 
they  shall  be  found,  for  God  says  they  shall ;  and  when 
they  are  found,  manifestly,  there  must  be  found  with 
them  a  branch  of  the  J"udo-Davidic  family,  who  are 
their  sovereigns. 

Since  the  East  is  left  in  such  utter  darkness,  not 
only  as  to  the  fate  of  Jeremiah  and  his  little  Royal 
Remnant,  but  also  as  to  the  destination  of  “the  dis¬ 
persed  ten  tribes,  who  had  been  lost,  even  to  the  Jews, 
so  long  before  Christ  came,  that  some  of  them  thought 
that  no  person  except  the  Messiah  could  go  to  them,  or 
might  even  know  where  to  find  them,  we  must  look 
elsewhere.  Also,  because  of  their  lack  of  historic  data 
concerning  the  completion  of  Jeremiah’s  work,  and 
because  his  disappearance  was  almost  as  marvelous  as 
was  the  translation  of  Elijah,  they  were  ready  to  say 
that  the  Christ  was  Jeremiah.  (Matt.  16:14.)  Their 
thought  was,  no  doubt,  that  Jeremiah,  like  Elijah,  was 
still  alive,  and  that  God  would  yet  use  him  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  building  and  planting  anew,  or  the  res¬ 
toration  of  the  kingdom  among  them,  to  which  they 
looked  forward  with  great  anticipation  and  hope. 

But,  as  we  were  saying,  since  there  is  no  light  in  the 
East  concerning  these  matters,  let  us  scan  the  pages 
of  prophecy  to  see  if  there  are  any  straws  which  point 
West.  And  since  it  is  said  of  straws  that  they  show 
which  way  the  wind  blows,  it  will  be  well  for  us  to 
know  that  Hosea  gives  a  prophecy  concerning  Eph¬ 
raim,  in  which  he  declares :  “Ephraim,  followeth  after 
an  East  wind.”  As  an  East  wind  is  one  which  blows 
from  the  East  and  travels  to  the  West,  this  makes  it 
certain  that  Ephraim  did  not  travel  Eastward.  For 


226  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

had  he  gone  in  an  Easterly  direction,  he  must  needs 
have  gone  facing  an  East  wind;  then  he  surely  went 
West.  And  since  he  was  “cast  afar  off,”  he  must  be 
in  the  far-off  West. 

When  Jehovah  confirmed  his  promise  to  David  con¬ 
cerning  the  perpetuity  of  his  kingdom,  throne,  sceptre 
and  house,  and  took  oath  by  his  holiness  that  he  would 
not  lie  to  him,  he  said:  “I  will  set  his  hand  (sceptre)  in 
the  sea.”  The  clues  which  the  prophet  Ezekiel  gives 
in  his  riddle,  as  to  the  location  of  Israel  and  the  royal 
pair,  are,  that  it  is  “a  land  of  traffic,”  that  it  has  “good 
soil”  and  that  it  “brings  forth  branches” ;  that  is,  that 
it  is  fruitful  and  populous.  We  are  told  it  has  a  “city 
of  merchants,”  that  “fowl  of  every  wing  dwell  under 
the  shadow  of  its  branches,”  i.  e.,  mixed,  or  various 
people  dwell  under  the  protection  of  its  rulers;  and 
that  its  location  is  by  “great  waters,”  which,  for 
reasons  that  will  become  more  and  more  apparent  as  we 
proceed,  we  affirm  to  be  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  For  the 
Lord  gives  a  message  to  Ephraim  through  Jeremiah, 
saying:  “I  am  a  father  to  Israel,  and  Ephraim  is  my 
first  born.  Hear  the  word  of  the  Lord,  O  ye  nations, 
and  declare  it  in  the  isles  afar  off,  and  say,  He  that 
scattered  Israel  will  gather  him.”  In  this  declaration 
we  find  that  the  far-off  home  of  Ephraim-Israel  is  in, 
not  an  island,  but  “the  isles,”  i.  e.,  a  group  of  islands. 
Thus  Ephraim,  also,  is  located  in  the  sea,  in  the  isles 
'afar  off. 

The  prophet  Isaiah,  in  the  forty-ninth  chapter,  ad¬ 
dresses  these  same  people,  saying :  “Listen,  O  isles, 
unto  me;  and  hearken,  ye  people  from  afar.  *  *  * 

Thou  art  my  servant,  O  Israel,  in  whom  I  will  (still 


227 


Lost  Israel  and  First  Overturn  Located 

in  the  future)  be  glorified.”  And  when  speaking,  in 
the  twelfth  verse  of  this  same  chapter  concerning  the 
future  return  of  this  same  people  to  Palestine,  their 
former  home,  at  which  time  he  will  be  more  fully 
glorified  in  them,  the  Lord  causes  the  prophet  to  make 
proclamation :  Behold,  these  shall  come  from  far  off, 
and  lo,  these  from  the  north  and  from  the  west.” 

In  the  Hebrew  there  is  no  compound  word  for 
north-west  as  we  use  it ;  hence  the  expression  north 
and  west.  There  is  a  group  of  isles  out  in  these  “great 
waters ”  which  are  just  as  directly  north-west  from 
Palestine  as  the  lines  of  latitude  and  longitude  can  lay 
them,  namely,  the  British  Isles.  And  we  may  just  as 
well  jump  into  the  midst  of  our  proofs  at  once,  since 
that  is  the  place  where  Ephraim-Israel  shall  chiefly  be 
found.  If  not  there,  it  is  because  they  have  “spread 
out,”  from  these  very  isles,  for  it  is  a  well-authenti¬ 
cated  fact  that  Jeremiah  went  to  Ireland,  where  he 
died,  and  that  his  grave  is  one  of  the  well-known  and 
proudly-named  spots  of  that  country,  whose  history  is 
one  of  the  mysteries  of  the  world. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  history  of  no  coun¬ 
try  on  the  face  of  the  earth  has  so  puzzled  historians 
as  that  of  Ireland.  There  is  both  a  sacred  and  secular 
reason  for  this.  The  secular  reason  is  that  Ireland 
steps  into  the  arena  of  history  with  a  monarchical  king¬ 
dom  running  in  full  blast,  and  men  do  not  know  how 
it  got  there.  The  sacred  reason  is  because  God  has 
issued  a  mandate,  saying:  “Keep  silence  before 
me,  O  islands,  and  let  the  people  renew  their  strength.” 
(Isa.  41  :i.) 


228  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

In  the  next  verse  the  Lord  asks  the  question :  “Who 
raised  up  the  righteous  man  from  the  East?’’  Then 
in  the  fourth  verse  he  answers  his  own  question,  say¬ 
ing,  “I  the  Lord,  the  first,  and  the  last;  I  am  he,”  and 
in  the  eighth  verse  of  the  same  chapter,  still  addressing 
the  dwellers  in  the  isles,  he  says:  “Thou  art  Israel, 
my  servant  Jacob,  whom  I  have  chosen,  the  seed  of 
Abraham  my  friend.  Thou  whom  I  have  taken  from 
the  ends  of  the  earth.”  i.  e.,  literally,  from  the  rising 
of  the  sun,  from  the  beginning,  or  from  the  East. 

This  statement,  coming  from  such  high  authority, 
forever  settles  the  question  as  to  the  origin  of  the  peo¬ 
ples  who  dwell  in  those  far-off  northwest  isles. 

We  have  read  many  authors  on  the  subject  of  the 
Hebrews  in  Ireland,  who  claim  to  have  searched  care¬ 
fully  and  critically  through  all  available  chronicles, 
records  and  histories  and  they  all  agree  that  a  perusal 
of  these  various  authorities  is  not  only  heavy  reading, 
but  that  they  are  very  obtuse,  and  that  they  are  actually 
confusing,  bewildering  and  tormenting  to  all  who  do 
not  take  the  word  of  God  as  an  ally  in  the  work  of 
unraveling  their  mysteries ;  for,  all  of  these  authorities 
do  agree  in  stating  the  following  facts : 

i.  About  585  B.  C.  a  “notable  man,”  an  “important 
personage,”  a  patriarch,  a  saint,  an  essentially  import¬ 
ant  someone,  according  to  their  various  ways  of  put¬ 
ting  it,  came  to  Ulster,  the  most  northern  province  of 
Ireland,  accompanied  by  a  princess,  the  daughter  of  an 
eastern  king,  and  that  in  company  with  them  was  one 
Simon  Brach,  Breck,  Brack,  Barech,  Berach,  as  it  is 
differently  spelled ;  and  that  this  royal  party  brought 
with  them  many  remarkable  things.  Among  these  was 


229 


Lost  Israel  and  First  Overturn  Located 

the  harp,  an  ark  and  the  wonderful  stone  called  Lia- 
fail,  or  stone  of  destiny,  of  which  we  shall  have  much 
to  say  hereafter. 

2.  This  eastern  princess  was  married  to  King  Herre- 
mon  on  condition,  made  by  this  notable  patriarch,  that 
he  should  abandon  his  former  religion,  and  build  a 
college  for  the  prophets.  This  Herremon  did,  and  the 
name  of  the  school  was  Mur-Ollam,  which  is  the  name, 
both  in  Hebrew  and  Irish,  for  school  of  the  prophets. 
He  also  changed  the  name  of  his  capital  city,  Lothair 
—sometimes  spelled  Cothair  Croffin— to  that  of  Tara. 

3.  The  name  of  this  Eastern  princess  is  given  as 
Tea-Tephi,  and  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  royal 
arms  of  Ireland  is  the  harp  of  David,  and  has  been  for 
two  thousand  and  five  hundred  years. 

Ezekiel  in  his  riddle,  when  speaking  of  the  coming 
of  the  female  passenger  who  came  to  that  land  in  the 
second  vessel,  whom  he  afterwards  proves  to  be  a 
princess,  speaks  of  “the  furrows  of  her  plantation.”  It 
is  a  truth,  and,  to  us,  a  marvelous  one,  that  the  prov¬ 
ince  of  Ulster  used  to  be  called  the  “Plantation  of 
Ulster,”  as  any  one  may  know  if  they  will  take  the 

trouble  to  consult  Chamber’s  Encyclopedia  on  the  word 
Ulster. 

Further,  the  crown  which  was  worn  by  the  sover¬ 
eigns  of  that  hitherto  unaccounted-for  kingdom  in  Ire¬ 
land  had  twelve  points.  Who  shall  say  that  “the  king’s 
daughter”  was  not  planted  there;  and  that  the  first 
of  the  three  of  Ezekiel’s  prophetic  overturns  was  not 
from  Palestine  to  Erin? 


CHAPTER  II. 

Jacob's  pillow-pillar  stone. 

When  the  Abrahamic  covenant  promises  were 
given  to  Jacob,  he  was  making  a  journey  from  Beer- 
sheba  to  Padan-aram.  He  had  but  recently  received 
from  his  father  Isaac  the  “Blessing,’’  which  carried 
with  it  those  much  desired  covenants  and  the  special 
blessings  and  promises  which  pertained  to  them.  When 
Isaac  gave  this  blessing  to  Jacob,  he  told  him  not  to 
take  a  wife  of  the  daughters  of  Canaan,  the  land  in 
which  they  were  then  living,  but  to  go  to  Laban,  his 
mother’s  brother,  and  to  take  a  wife  from  among  his 
daughters. 

It  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  Jacob  was  traveling 
entirely  alone,  for  that  was  not  the  Oriental  custom. 
We  learn,  from  incidental  remarks  that  are  dropped 
elsewhere  in  reference  to  this  journey,  that  he  had 
with  him  a  tent  which  was  pitched  at  night,  and  that 
the  journey  was  made  on  foot,  for  he  walked  with  a 
staff.  The  sacred  record  deals  chiefly  with  that  which 
took  place  between  Jacob  and  the  Lord,  with  but  the 
slightest  incidental  mention  of  details,  as  concerning 
a  certain  sundown,  and  stones  for  pillows.  The  first 
mention  of  stones  for  pillows,  with  reference  to  this 
occasion,  is  plural ;  but  suddenly  one  of  those  pillow 
stones  is  brought  into  great  distinction. 

The  facts  which  brought  that  special  stone  into  such 
prominence  may  be  quickly  read,  for  the  Bible  account 


230 


231 


Jacob’s  Pillow-Pillar  Stone 

of  them  is  very  short ;  but  we  doubt  whether  many  who 
have  read  the  record  of  those  facts  realize  their  true 
symbolic  import.  We  doubt  also  whether  we  shall  be 
able  to  explain,  even  approximately,  not  only  the  great 
distinction  which  has  been  bestowed  upon  that  stone 
as  a  symbol,  but  also  the  exalted  place  it  has  occupied 
ever  since  it  came  into  historic  notice,  or  the  supreme 
greatness  of  that  position  to  which  prophecy  declares 
it  shall  yet  be  raised.  If  we  read  the  prophets  aright, 
no  such  glorious  prominence,  highly-honored  use,  or 
divinely-declared  purpose,  has  ever  been  given  to  any 
other  inanimate  thing  on  the  earth,  as  that  which  is 
yet  in  reserve  for  that  special  pillow  stone  upon  which 
Jacob  rested  his  head  on  that  certain  night,  when  he 
camped  before  Luz,  while  on  his  way  to  Padan-aram. 

It  seems  to  have  been  the  custom  among  Oriental 
travelers,  when  they  pitched  their  tents  for  the  night, 
to  take  stones  for  headpieces,  or  bolsters,  in  order  to 
raise  that  part  of  their  bedding  on  which  their  heads 
rested  to  a  comfortable  position  for  rest  and  sleep.  At 
least,  this  is  what  Jacob  did,  and  as  he  slept,  he 
dreamed.  In  his  dream  he  saw  what  is  called  a  ladder, 
but  which  may  be  called  a  staircase,  or  an  open  way 
that  reached  from  earth  to  heaven,  for  “the  top  of 
it  reached  to  heaven/’  The  angels  of  God  were  ascend¬ 
ing  and  descending  by  this  existing  way,  which  for 
the  time  was  made  visible  to  the  inheritor  of  the  cove¬ 
nant  promises ;  and,  at  the  top,  above  all  that  throng 
of  radiant  comers  and  goers,  the  Lord  stood,  and  gave 
Jacob  the  full  text  of  the  covenants,  as  formerly  given 
to  Abraham  and  Isaac. 


232  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Upon  hearing  and  receiving  these  promises  from  the 
Lord,  Jacob  awoke,  startled,  convicted  and  afraid; 
startled  because,  as  he  thought,  he  had  accidentally  got 
into  God's  house,  and  stumbled  through  the  gate  which 
led  away  from  this  world  to  that  pure  one  of  which 
he  had  just  caught  a  glimpse;  afraid,  just  as  any  man 
would  be  who  had  defrauded  his  brother,  and  taken 
advantage  of  the  love  and  confidence  of  a  blind  and 
aged  father ;  convicted  !  It  could  not  have  been  other¬ 
wise,  for  he  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  holiness  of 
God  and  the  purity  of  a  sinless  world.  Hence,  in  the 
agony  of  that  psychical  fear,  which  must  ever  be  expe¬ 
rienced  by  the  wicked  when  brought  in  contact  with 
absolute  holiness,  he  cried  out,  “How  dreadful  is  this 
place!  This  is  none  other  but  the  house  of  God,  and 
this  is  the  gate  of  heaven.” 

That  which  would  have  been  a  great  joy  to  a  holy 
man  was  only  a  means  of  torture  to  this  sinful  one, 
who  was  fleeing  from  the  anger  of  an  outraged 
brother.  But  he  soon  began  to  yield  himself  to  God, 
and  as  he  yielded  there  came  to  him  that  ever  accom¬ 
panying  desire,  i.  e.,  the  desire  to  worship.  With  these 
things  there  came  also  spiritual  intuitions  of  coming 
events,  and  of  their  importance  to  him  in  his  relations 
to  the  divine  covenants.  Then  Jacob,  awed  by  the  sub¬ 
lime  majesty  of  the  Holy  One,  deeply  impressed  by  the 
greatness  of  the  promises  made  to  him,  stirred  in  the 
depths  of  his  inner  nature  by  the  heavenly  vision, 
pressed  by  the  weight  of  responsibility,  yet  encouraged 
by  the  dawning  gladness  in  his  heart,  and  moved  by 
the  spirit  of  prophecy,  took  the  stone  upon  which  his 
head  had  rested,  and  set  it  up  for  a  pillar  of  witness. 


23  3 


Jacob’s  Pillow-Pillar  Stone 

At  the  same  time  he  anointed  it  with  oil,  called  it 
Bethel,  used  it  for  an  altar  at  which  to  worship,  and 
upon  which  to  make  a  vow  unto  the  Lord  God  of  his 
fathers,  saying:  “If  God  will  be  with  me,  and  keep  me 
in  this  way  that  I  go,  and  will  give  me  bread  to  eat, 
and  raiment  to  put  on,  so  that  I  come  again  to  my 
father’s  house  in  peace ;  then  shall  the  Lord  be  my  God  : 
and  this  stone,  which  I  have  set  for  a  pillar,  shall  be 
God’s  house:  and  of  all  that  thou  shalt  give  me,  I 
will  surely  give  the  tenth  unto  thec.,, 

It  is  a  most  significant  fact  that  the  name  Bethel,  or 
God’s  house,  should  have  been  given  to  this  stone  by 
the  one  who  was  the  father  of  the  twelve  patriarchs, 
who  were  the  progenitors  of  that  great  multitude  which 
is  also  called  “The  House  of  God,”  “The  Host  of  God” 
and  The  Families  of  God.”  Also  in  the  eighty-third 
psalm,  The  House  of  Israel,  the  Hidden  Ones,  which, 
while  hidden,  are  to  develop  into  many  nations,  are 
called  “The  Houses  of  God.” 

We  must  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  Jacob  gave  the 
name  of  Bethel  not  only  to  the  place,  or  locality,  where 
the  stone  was  set  up,  but  also  to  the  stone  pillar,  for 
he  emphatically  declared :  “This  stone ,  which  I  havd  set 
for  a  pillar,  shall  be  God’s  house.” .  We  understand, 
however,  that  God  inspired  both  the  choice  of  this 
stone  and  its  name,  for  when  he  next  spoke  to  Jacob 
he  said :  ‘  I  am  the  God  of  Bethel.”  That  means,  I  am 
the  God  of  God’s  house;  or,  in  other  words,  the  God 
of  the  Bethel  stone  which  is  in  the  place  called  Bethel. 
Thus  the  Lord  associates  himself  not  only  with  the 

place  where  he  appeared  to  Jacob,  but  also  with  the 
Bethel  rock. 


234  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

Twenty  years  later  Jacob  returned  to  the  land  of 
Canaan  with  great  riches,  and  with  the  knowledge  that 
his  prosperity  was  the  result  of  divine  favor  and  inter¬ 
vention  ;  for  the  Lord  had  shown  him  how  one  who 
is  called  ‘The  Angel  of  God”  was  given  power  to  con¬ 
trol  the  breeding  of  the  cattle.  Thus  Jacob  was  made 
to  know  that  God  had  accepted  and  met  all  the  condi¬ 
tions  which  he  had  made  to  him  by  vow  on  the  Bethel 
pillow-pillar  stone. 

Before  Jacob  reached  Canaan  he  had  confessed  his 
wrongdoings,  and  made  peace  with  his  brother ;  and 
God  had  taken  away  from  him  not  only  the  name  of 
supplanter,  but  also  the  inborn  supplanter  nature,  and 
given  him  the  victorious  name  of  Israel. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  place  called  Bethel 
and  the  city  of  Luz  were  so  near  each  other  that  the 
two  names  are  used  Interchangeably  in  the  Scriptures, 
or  rather  that  the  name  Bethel  often  included  the  little 
city,  which  was  previously  called  Luz.  But  before  we 
can  understand  the  true  relation  of  both  Bethel  and 
the  Bethel  rock  to  our  general  subject,  we  must  know 
to  whom,  or  to  which  one  of  the  tribes,  Bethel  was 
given  as  a  possession. 

The  sacred  historian,  when  describing  the  bound¬ 
aries  of  the  “lot”  in  Canaan  which  fell  to  Joseph,  de¬ 
scribes  one  of  those  border  lines  as  follows  :  “And  (it) 
goeth  out  from  Bethel  to  Luz,  and  passeth  along  unto 
the  borders  of  Archi  to  Astaroth.”  (Josh.  16:2.)  Also, 
in  the  description  of  that  portion  which  fell  to  the 
children  of  Benjamin — their  portion  lay  between  Judah 
and  Joseph,  Judah  being  to  the  south,  and  Joseph  to 
the  north  of  Benjamin — we  have  the  following:  “And 


Jacob’s  Pillow-Pillar  Stone  235 

the  border  went  over  from  thence  (Beth-aven)  toward 
Luz,  to  the  side  of  Luz,  which  is  Bethel,  southward.” 
(Josh.  18:  13.)  From  this  we  perceive,  not  only  that 
Benjamin’s  border  was  south  of  Bethel,  but  also  that 
Bethel,  the  place  where  Jacob  set  up  the  Bethel  pillar- 
stone,  Weis  on  the  south  side  of  the  city  proper. 

Further,  it  is  recorded  that  the  children  of  Dan 
could  not  conquer  the  Amorites,  but  that  the  Amorites 
drove  them  into  the  mountains,  and  occupied  those 
portions  of  Dan’s  inheritance  which  best  suited  them. 
But  it  is  also  recorded  that  the  house  of  Joseph  did 
conquer  those  Amorites,  that  they  compelled  them  to 
become  their  dependents,  and  that  they  fixed  their 
boundary  lines.  In  the  description  of  these  boundaries 
we  have  the  following :  “And  the  coast  of  the  Amor¬ 
ites  was  from  the  going  up  to  Akrabbim,  from  the  rock, 
and  upward.”  (Judges  1:26.)  Some  may  think  that 
this  reference  to  the  rock  refers  to  the  rock  Etam,  or 
Etam-rock.  This  is  not  possible,  because  both  Etam, 
the  city,  and  the  rock  Etam  are  southwest  of  Jerusalem 
in  the  hill  country  of  Judea,  and  had  nothing  whatever 
to  do  with  the  borders  of  Joseph,  Dan  or  the  Amorites. 
Hence  the  phrases,  “from  the  rock  and  upward,”  can 
mean  only  Bethel,  the  place  of  the  rock,  or,  from  the 

Bethel  rock,  and  up  into  the  mountains  of  Eph- 
raim-Samaria-Israel. 

Again,  concerning  the  house  of  Joseph,  Bethel  and 
Luz,  we  have  the  following :  And  the  house  of  Joseph, 
they  also  went  up  against  Bethel  and  the  Lord  was  with 
them.  And  the  house  of  Joseph  sent  to  descry  Bethel. 
(Now  the  name  of  the  city  was  Luz.)  And  the  spies 
saw  a  man  come  forth  out  of  the  city,  and  they  said 


236  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

unto  him :  Shew  us,  we  pray  thee,  the  entrance  into  the 
city,  and  we  will  shew  thee  mercy.  And  when  he 
shewed  them  the  entrance  into  the  city,  they  smote  the 
city  with  the  edge  of  the  sword ;  but  they  let  go  the 
man  and  all  his  family.  And  the  man  went  into  the 
land  of  the  Hittites,  and  built  a  city,  and  called  the 
name  thereof  of  Luz.”  (Judges  i :  22-26.)  Thus,  with 
the  building  of  that  other  Luz,  the  name  of  Luz  not 
only  departed  forever  from  Bethel,  but  it  is  never  again 

mentioned  in  sacred  history. 

Finally,  when  Jeroboam,  of  the  house  of  Joseph,  was 
made  king  of  the  ten  tribes,  and  became  fearful  that 
the  people  would,  if  allowed  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem  to 
worship,  kill  him,  and  go  again  to  Rehoboam,  king  of 
Judah,  he,  to  prevent  this,  made  two  golden  calves,  of 
which  it  is  said :  “He  set  the  one  in  Bethel,  and  the  other 
put  he  in  Dan.”  His  right  to  place  one  in  Bethel  was 
undisputed,  because  it  was  not  only  “the  king’s  sanctu¬ 
ary,”  but  it  was  also  in  his  own  tribal  territory.  He 
had  a  sovereign’s  right  to  place  one  in  Dan,  for  all 
who  went  there  to  worship  were  confederate  with  him. 
The  Dan  referred  to  was  the  city  of  Dan,  which  was 

situated  in  the  northern  part  of  his  realm. 

Now,  one  point  is  settled  beyond  the  possibility  of 
doubt,  and  that  is,  that  Bethel  was  a  part  of  the  in¬ 
heritance  which  fell  to  the  house  of  Joseph  when  the 
land  of  Canaan  was  divided  among  the  children  of 
Jacob.  This  brings  us  to  a  vital  point  concerning  the 
subject  in  hand,  namely: 

That  not  only  Bethel,  the  city,  or  place,  but  also  that 
Bethel  the  pillar-rock  was  given  to  the  birthright  fam¬ 
ily;  and  that  Israel  carried  that  rock  with  them  into 


Jacob’s  Pillow-Pillar  Stone  237 

Egypt  and  in  their  subsequent  journeyings  in  the 
wilderness. 

Proof:  Jacob  died  in  Egypt,  and  his  posterity  were 
in  Egypt  at  the  time.  When  dying,  “Jacob  called  unto 
him  his  sons  and  said,  Gather  yourselves  together,  that 
I  may  tell  you  that  which  shall  befall  you  in  the  last 
days.”  When  his  sons,  in  response  to  this  call,  came 
together,  he  gave  a  prophecy  concerning  that  which 
the  posterity  of  each  of  them  would  be  in  the  last  days. 
But  while  he  was  making  the  prophecy  concerning 
Joseph  and  his  house,  to  whom  he  had  just  given  the 
birthright,  he  stopped  in  the  midst  of  his  prophetic 
utterances,  and  used  the  following  parenthetical  expres¬ 
sion:  “(from  thence  is  the  shepherd,  the  stone  of 
Israel :)” 

Thence,,  as  herein  used,  is  an  adverb  used  as  a 
noun,  and  is  equivalent  in  value  to  that  place ,  or  the 
place  to  which  it  refers.  The  phrase,  from  thence, 
means  “out  of  there,  out  from  thither,  (or)  out  of  that 
place.  Since  the  place  from  whence*  the  stone  came 
was  the  inheritance  of  Joseph,  and  since  Bethel,  the 
place  of  the  stone,  was  the  inheritance  of  Joseph,  we 
must  know  that  it  came  from  thence,  i.  e.,  Bethel.  Thus, 
t  e  very  fact  that  Jacob,  when  dying  in  Egypt,  made 
use  of  those  words  in  reference  to  that  Bethel  stone 
carries  proof  on  its  very  face  that  the  stone  was  not,  at 
at  time,  in  the  place  where  it  had  formerly  been,  but 
that  it  was  with  them  there  in  Egypt,  and  had  previ¬ 
ously  been  committed  to  the  care  of  the  house  of 
Joseph. 


•Whence,  present  form  of  the  old  word  thence. 


238  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  number  of  the  Israel¬ 
ites  which  came  out  of  Egypt  in  the  exodus  were  two 
millions  and  a  half.  All  who  will  take  time  to  think 
will  soon  comprehend  how  impossible  it  would  be,  even 
for  a  fertile  country,  much  less  a  desert,  to  supply  such 
a  multitude,  as  well  as  their  cattle,  of  which  not  a  hoof 
was  left  behind,  with  food  and  water  unless  special 
arrangements  were  made  for  an  extra  supply.  But  in 
this  case,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  was  not  done; 
hence  it  became  necessary  for  God  to  furnish  the  sup¬ 
ply  of  food  and  water  for  that  vast  concourse  of  peo¬ 
ple,  and  also  for  their  herds  and  flocks. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  Lord  continually 
provided  food  for  Israel  during  these  forty  years  of 
wanderings  in  the  desert-wilderness.  But,  because 
there  are  only  two  instances  recorded  in  which  the  Lord 
supernaturally  provided  them  with  water,  most  people 
think  these  were  the  only  instances  in  which  water  was 
thus  provided.  Yet,  all  who  will  give  the  subject  just 
a  little  investigation  will  soon  know  that  such  is  not  the 
case. 

The  first  mention  of  no  water  for  the  people  to  drink 
was  while  the  Israelites  were  encamped  at  Rephidim. 
Without  previously  selecting  one  special  rock,  the 
Lord  said  unto  Moses  *.  “I  will  stand  before  thee  there 
upon  the  rock  in  Horeb,  and  thou  shalt  smite  the  rock , 
and  there  shall  come  water  out  of  it.  The  phrase, 
“There  in  Horeb,"  points  out  the  place  where  the  rock 
was  at  the  time,  and  if  the  Lord,  when  he  spoke  of  the 
rock,  had  used  the  demonstrative  form,  and  said  “That 
rock,"  then  we  should  know  that  he  was  designating 
which  one,  or  a  certain  one  not  yet  selected,  but  the 


239 


Jacob  s  Pillow-Pillar  Stone 

fact  that  he  said  “The  rock”  is  proof  to  us  that  he  was 
speaking  of  a  rock  with  which  they  were  already 
familiar.  May  it  not  have  been  the  Bethel  pillar  rock, 
“the  shepherd,  the  stone  of  Israel,”  which  had  been 
committed  to  the  keeping  of  the  house  of  Joseph  ? 

This  possibility  is  more  clearly  manifest  in  the  ac¬ 
count  of  the  other  circumstances  when  there  was  no 
water,  which  occurred  at  Kadish,  a  city  in  the  border  of 
Edom,  the  country  which  belonged  to  the  descendants 
of  Esau.  At  this  place  the  people  of  Israel  were  very 
bitter  against  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  said  unto  them, 
Why  have  ye  brought  up  the  congregation  of  .  the 
Lord  into  this  wilderness,  that  we  and  our  cattle  should 
die  there  ?  And  wherefore  have  ye  made  us  to  come 
up  out  of  Egypt,  to  bring  us  into  this  evil  place  ?  It 
is  no  place  of  seed,  or  of  figs,  or  of  vines,  or  of  pome- 
granites  ;  neither  is  there  any  water  to  drink.  And 
Moses  and  Aaron  went  from  the  presence  of  the  assem¬ 
bly  unto  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation, 

and  they  fell  upon  their  faces,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  appeared  unto  them. 

•‘And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying :  Take  the 
rod,  and  gather  the  assembly  together,  and  speak  ye 
unto  the  rock  before  their  eyes ;  and  it  shall  give  forth 
his  water,  and  thou  shalt  bring  forth  to  them  water  out 
of  the  rock;  so  thou  shalt  give  the  congregation  and 
their  beasts  drink.  And  Moses  took  the  rod  from  be¬ 
fore  the  Lord,  as  he  commanded  him.  And  Moses  and 
Aaron  gathered  the  congregation  together  before  the 
rock,  and  he  said  unto  them:  Hear  now,  ye  rebels; 
must  we  fetch  water  out,  of  this  rock ?  And  Moses 
lifted  up  his  hand,  and  with  his  rod  he  smote  the  rock 


240  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph  s  Birthright 

twice:  and  the  water  came  out  abundantly,  and  the 
congregation  drank,  and  their  beasts  also.”  (Num. 

20:5-11.)  ,  , 

We  have  quoted  this  account  in  full,  from  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  complaint  by  the  people  until  the  water 
was  given,  that  our  readers  may  see  that,  although 
the  phrase  “the  rock”  is  used  four  times,  there  is  not 
the  slightest  indication  that  there  was  any  selection,  or 
indication  of  preference  for  any  certain  rock  in  the 
vicinity  of  Kadish,  or  that  one  was  not  already  chosen, 
and  in  their  midst.  It  was  to  show  also  that  at  the  very 
first  mention  of  water  for  the  people  from  “this  rock, 
all  that  was  necessary,  as  a  preparatory  measure,  was 
for  the  Lord  to  say  to  Moses,  “Speak  to  the  rock  , 
and  also  that  when  the  people  were  commanded  to 
“gather  before  “the  rock,”  they  understood  so  well 
which  rock  it  was  that,  in  all  that  vast  company  of  two 
and  a  half  millions,  no  explanations  were  necessary. 
Hence,  it  must  have  been  among  them  before  this,  and 
well  known.  Let  us  also  bear  in  mind  that  this  name, 
“The  Rock,”  was  used  in  the  same  relation  at  Re- 
phidim,  and  yet  the  children  of  Israel  had  removed, 
journeyed  and  pitched  their  tents  twenty-one*  times 
after  leaving  Rephidim,  and  here  at  Kadish  there  is 
with  them  that  which  is  still  familiarly  known  as 

“The  Rock.” 

We  all  know  that  stones  are  rocks,  and  that  rocks  are 
stones,  so  that  a  rock  or  stone  is  only  one  rock  or 
stone,  and  the  appellation  “The  Rock,”  and  ‘The 
Stone,”  must  refer  to  some  special  or  particular  stone 
or  rock.  As  we  have  seen,  Israel  must  have  been  in 


*See  Numbers,  33d  chapter. 


Jacob  s  Pillow-Pillar  Stone  241 

possession  of  just  such  a  special  rock,  i.  e.,  the  Bethel 
stone,  and  that  Jacob  set  it  up  and  called  it  a  “Pillar.” 
Later,  in  the  days  of  Athaliah,  after  she  tried  to  de¬ 
stroy  all  the  males  of  “the  seed  royal,”  but  did  not  suc¬ 
ceed,  for  the  reason  that  an  infant  son  of  Ahaziah, 
whom  Athaliah  succeeded  to  the  throne,  was  stolen 
from  those  whom  she  had  ordered  slain  and  hidden. 
The  stealing  and  hiding  of  this  infant  was  so  cleverly 
done  that  it  was  not  missed  by  the  court  slayer.  This 
infant,  whose  name  was  Joash  was  kept  hidden  from 
the  wicked  queen  for  six  years.  During  this  time  she 
reigned,  not  knowing  that  there  was  a  male  heir  to 
the  throne  who  could  dethrone  her.  But  in  the  seventh 
year  the  secret  was  revealed  to  the  “rulers  over  hun¬ 
dreds,  and  to  “the  captains  of  the  guards,”  and  quiet 
arrangements  made  to  proclaim  the  seven-year-old 
prince  as  their  king.  The  plans  were  successful,  and 
Athaliah  knew  nothing  of  it  until  she  heard  the  people 
in  the  temple  shouting  “God  save  the  king!” 

Thus  it  is  recorded :  “And  when  Athaliah  heard  the 
noise  of  the  guard  and  of  the  people,  she  came  to  the 
people  into  the  temple  of  the  Lord.  And  when  she 
looked,  behold !  the  king  stood  by  a  pillar,  as  the  man¬ 
ner  was.”  (2  Kings  n  :  13-14.)  Concerning  this  pillar, 
Dr.,  Adam  Clark’s  translation  reads,  “Stood  on  a  pil¬ 
lar, ^  which  he  explains  is  “The  place  or  throne  on 
which  they  were  accustomed  to  put  their  kings  when 

.  ,  tli  e  revised  version  it 

IS  rendered,  “Standing  by  the  pillar,  as  was  their  cus¬ 
tom,”  the  article  denoting  that  particular  pillar  by,  or 
upon,  which  it  was  the  custom  of  Israel  to  crown  their 


242  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Again,  when  the  good  king  Josiah  made  a  covenant 
before  the  Lord^  in  the  presence  of  all  the  people,  that 
he  would  destroy  idolatry  out  of  the  land,  it  is  writ¬ 
ten,  “And  the  king  stood  by  a  (or  the)  pillar  and 
made  a  covenant  before  the  Lord.”  (2  Kings  23:  3.) 
There  is,  in  the  Second  Chronicles,  a  recapitulation  of 
this  circumstance  concerning  Josiah,  which  gives  the 
following,  “And  the  king  stood  in  his  place.”  His 
place,  we  are  told,  was  by  the  pillar,  which  might  prop¬ 
erly  be  translated  pillar-stone ,  upon  which  all  the 
kings  of  Israel  were  crowned,  made  covenants,  took 
oaths,  or  made  vows,  as  did  Jacob  when  he  first  set  it 
up  for  a  pillar  and  made  it  God’s  house. 

This  stone  is  not  only  called  “The  Pillar,”  “The 
Rock,”  “Bethel,”  and  “The  Stone  of  Israel,”  but,  won¬ 
derful  to  tell,  it  is  also  called  “The  Shepherd.”  And 
since  it  is  really  the  stone  of  Israel  we  should  expect 
it  to  be  with  them  to  whom  it  belonged,  but  since  it  is 
also  the  Shepherd  of  Israel ,  its  very  name  and  charac¬ 
ter, — for  with  God  names  are  always  characteristic — 
demand  that  it  should  be  with  Israel  in  all  their  wan¬ 
derings.  Hence,  this  Shepherd — though  it  is  only  a 
stone — as  any  other  shepherd  would  do,  must  go  with 
His  flock. 

We  have  said  that  this  stone  of  Israel,  was  a  type, 
or  symbol.  For  proof,  let  us  go  back  to  the  place 
called  Bethel.  There  we  shall  find  that  Jacob,  after 
setting  up  “The  Rock”  for  a  pillar,  also  anointed  it  with 
oil,  which  in  sacred  symbols  is  typical  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  And,  according  to  sacred  history,  this  Bethel 
stone  is  the  only  single,  individual  stone  that  has  ever 
been  anointed ;  hence,  among  stones  it  is  pre-eminently 


Jacob’s  Pillow-Pillar  Stone  243 

the  Anointed  One.”  When  Christ,  the  great  proto¬ 
type,  came,  and  was  anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 

he  was  pre-eminently,  among  men,  “the  Anointed 
One 

Also,  concerning  “The  rock”  which  accompanied 
Israel,  the  Lord  could  say  to  Israel’s  leader,  “ Speak 
to  The  .Rock.”  But,  on  the  other  hand,  Israel  also 
could  say,  concerning  that  divine  presence  which  went 

with  them,  “Let  us  sing  unto  The  Rock  of  our  salva¬ 
tion.” 

Again,  this  stone  is  called  “The  Shepherd  of  Israel.” 
But  there  is  also  a  divine  one  unto  whom  Israel 
prayed,  saying,  “Give  ear,  O  Shepherd  of  Israel.” 
Later,  when  this  same  Shepherd  was  manifest  in  the 
flesh,  he  said,  I  am  the  Good  Shepherd,”  and  his 
apostles  spoke  of  him  as  “The  Great  Shepherd”  and 
“The  Chief  Shepherd.”  Hence,  the  oft-repeated  meta¬ 
phor  of  “sheep”  and  “flock,”  in  both  the  Old  and  the 
New  Testaments. 

Further,  Israel  had  a  pillar-rock,  which  went  with 
them  as  their  shepherd  in  all  their  journeyings  in  the 
wilderness ;  but  it  is  also  written  that  “The  Lord  went 
before  them  by  day  in  a  pillar  of  a  cloud,  to  lead  them 
in  the  way ;  and  by  night  in  a  pillar  of  fire,  to  give 
them  light!” 

Still  further,  that  the  Scriptures  might  be  fulfilled, 
Israel’s  divine  Shepherd-rock  was  smitten,  for  it  is 
written,  “Smite  the  Shepherd.”  So,  too,  Israel’s  lit¬ 
eral  Shepherd-rock  was  smitten.  The  Lord  knew  that 
he  must  be  smitten  for  the  sins  of  the  people,  and,  that 
the  type  and  prototype  might  agree,  he  gave  command, 
“Smite  the  rock.”  Oh,  the  pain  of  it  all !— especially 


244  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

to  him;  but  he  shall  yet  see  the  desire  of  his  heart, 
i.  e.,  his  emotional  nature,  his  soul,  and  be  satisfied. 

It  is  also  said  of  Israel  that  they  “Did  all  drink  the 
same  spiritual  drink,  for  they  drank  of  that  Spiritual 
Rock  that  followed  them,  and  that  Rock  was  Christ.” 
It  is  also  true  that  they  did  all  drink  from  the  same 
refreshing  stream  which  flowed  from  that  literal  Rock 
which  also  went  with  them,  for  it  was  their  Shepherd- 
rock.  No  doubt  Israel  was  supplied  with  water  from 
this  rock  in  the  wilderness,  as  well  as  at  Rephidim 
and  Kadish,  for  the  country  between  these  two  places 
is  much  more  desert  than  these  cities.  At  Kadish 
Moses  sent  messengers  to  the  king  of  Edom,  asking 
permission  for  the  Lord’s  host  to  pass  through  his 
country,  and  told  them  to  say,  “Thus  saith  thy  brother 
Israel,  Let  us  pass,  I  pray  thee,  through  thy  country: 
we  will  not  pass  through  the  fields,  or  through  the 
vineyards,  neither  will  we  drink  of  the  water  of  the 
wells;  we  will  go  by  the  king’s  highway;  we  will  not 
turn  to  the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left,  until  we  have 
passed  thy  borders.  *  *  *  If  I  and  my  cattle 
drink  of  thy  water,  then  I  will  pay  for  it :  I  will  only, 
without  doing  anything  else,  go  through  on  my  feet.” 

Just  imagine  a  company  of  two  and  one-half  million 
traveling  on  foot  through  a  country  which  is  several 
hundred  miles  in  length,  giving  assurance  to  its  ruler 
that  they  would  keep  to  the  highway,  and  not  turn  to 
the  right  and  left,  for  any  reason,  nor  drink  water  out 
of  the  wells  (i.  e.,  pits,  fountains,  springs,  or  wells; 
literally  their  water  supply)  of  that  country.  Israel 
could  afford  to  make  this  proposition,  for  both  their 
Shepherd-rocks  were  with  them,  i.  e.,  the  literal  and 


245 


Jacob’s  Pillow-Pillar  Stone 

the  spiritual  rock,  and  they  knew  that  he,  who  had 
hitherto  furnished  them  wdth  food  and  water,  would 
still  continue  to  supply  them  until  the  end  of  the 
journey.  Otherwise  Moses  would  never  have  made 
such  a  promise. 

True,  there  was  a  conditional  promise  made,  in  v/hich 
there  is  a  promise  to  pay  for  any  of  the  water  of  Edom 
which  might  be  used.  But  this,  as  you  see,  was  made 
chiefly,  if  not  altogether,  on  account  of  the  cattle, 
which  they  might  not  be  able  to  control  and  keep  to 
the  dusty  highways,  while  passing  by  the  cool  and 
tempting  pools  and  springs  of  water.  This  might 
prove  to  be  a  difficult  task  for  the  drovers,  especially 
in  the  heat  of  the  day ;  hence  this  proviso.  They  were 
not  supposed  to  get  water  from  the  rock  until  they  had 
completed  their  day’s  journey  and  pitched  their  tents. 

Thus  we  have  seen  that  among  the  Israelites  there 
were  two  rocks,  two  houses,  two  kingdoms,  two  na¬ 
tions,  or  a  Sceptre  and  a  Birthright  company.  Of 
these  two  great  divisions,  Judah  and  Joseph  are  the 
representatives.-  By  divine  appointment  one  of  these 
rocks  was  given  to  the  Birthright  family,  and  the  other 
to  the  Sceptre  family.  The  Bethel-Pillar-Shepherd- 
Stone  of  Israel  was  given  to  Joseph,  but  to  Judah  was 
given  the  Spiritual  Rock,  for  it  is  written  that  “Our 
Lord  sprang  out  of  Judah.”  Both  of  these  rocks, 
each  in  a  different  way,  have  been  rejected,  but 

EACH  OF  THEM  SHALL  YET  BECOME  THE  HEAD  OF  THE 
CORNER. 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  OTHER  OVERTURNS. 

In  connection  with  the  prophecies  concerning  the 
removal  of  the  crown  o*  David  from  the  head  of  Zede- 
kiah  to  the  head  of  a  prince  who  belonged  to  the  hith¬ 
erto  non-ruling  branch  of  the  royal  family  of  Israel’s 
race,  the  Lord  said,  “I  will  overturn,  overturn,  over¬ 
turn  it;  and  it  shall  be  no  more  (moved  or  overturned) 
until  he  comes  whose  right  it  is ;  and  I  will  give  it  to 
him.”  These  words  teach  that,  after  the  removal  of 
David’s  crown  from  the  head  of  the  then  ruling  prince, 
there  were  to  be  three  overturns — no  more,  no  less — 
and  that  after  the  third  overturn  the  crown  must  rest, 
or  stay  in  the  place  where  it  is  left  by  the  third  over¬ 
turn,  until  that  person  comes  to  whom  it  belongs  by 
right.  Then  at  least  one  more  overturn  will  be  nec¬ 
essary,  for  that  seat  of  power  must  yet  go  back  to  the 
city  of  David. 

The  first  of  these  overturns  we  have  already  traced 
from  Palestine  to  the  islands  of  the  north-west,  which 
are  in  the  “great  waters.”  We  now  propose  to  show 
that  the  other  two  of  these  predicted  overturns  took 
place  in  those  self-same  islands,  or,  in  other  words,  that 
these  three  overturns  landed  the  sceptre  and  throne  al¬ 
ternately  in  Ireland,  Scotland  and  England;  and  that, 
even  after  the  third  overturn,  the  kingdom  is  still,  as 
the  word  of  God  declares,  “in  the  isles  afar  off,”  and 
“in  the  sea.” 


246 


The  Other  Overturns 


247 


It  will  be  impossible  to  follow  the  history  of  the 
overturns  of  this  kingdom,  unless  we  again  take  up 
the  thread  of  history  as  it  concerns  the  pillar  stone, 
upon  which  the  kings  of  Israel  were  crowned ;  for, 
strange  as  it  may  seem  to  some  people,  both  ancient 
and  modern  history  come  honestly  to  the  rescue  of 

prophecy,  and  follow  that  stone  through  each  of  these 
overturns. 

We  have  already  seen,  according  to  Josephus,  that, 
prior  to  the  return  of  the  Jews  from  Babylon,  Ezra 
(Esdras)  received  a  letter  from  Xerxes,  which  was  so 
full  of  offered  favors,  love,  and  fraternal  greetings, 
that  he  sent  a  copy  of  it  to  the  ten  tribes  in  Media- 
Persia,  and  asked  them  to  return  with  the  Jews  to  Jeru¬ 
salem.  But  the  ten  tribes  refused  this  offer,  and  Jo¬ 
sephus  tells  us  that  the  entire  body  of  Israel  remained 
in  that  country.  On  the  other  hand,  Ezra  (Esdras), 
who  was  in  a  position  to  know  more  about  them,  says 
that  they  decided  not  to  return,  and  also  that  they  took 
counsel  among  themselves,  and  resolved  that  they  would 
go  further  away  into  an  unknown  country.  In  ac¬ 
complishing  this,  Esdras  says,  “They  entered  into 
Euphrates  by  the  narrow  passages  of  the  river.  For 
the  Most  High  then  shewed  signs  for  them,  and  held 
still  the  waters  till  they  were  passed  over.  For  through 
that  country  there  was  a  great  way  to  go,  namely,  of  a 
year  and  a  half.”  This  is  in  harmony  with  the  fol¬ 
lowing  :  “The  breaker  is  come  up  before  them ;  they 
have  broken  up,  and  have  passed  through  the  gate  and 
are  gone  out  of  it,  and  their  king  shall  pass  before 
them;  and  the  Lord  on  the  head  of  them.”  (Micah 
2:13.) 


24§  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

The  clause,  “They  have  passed  through  the  gate,” 
and  the  one  by  Ezra,  “They  have  entered  into  the  nar¬ 
row  passages,”  are  parallel,  and  refer  to  the  same  cir¬ 
cumstance  and  place.  This  gate ,  or  narrow  passage, 
which  is  up  among  the  headwaters  of  the  Euphrates, 
is  now  called  the  Caucasian  Pass,  or  the  Pass  of  Da- 
riel.  As  Israel  goes  out  through  this  pass,  Micah 
says  that  the  Lord  is  on  the  head  of  them,  but  it  is  left 
for  Ezra  to  say  that  the  Lord  gave  Israel  evidence  of 
his  presence,  because  he  gave  them  signs  and  held  still 
the  floods,  as  he  did  at  Jordan,  until  they  passed  over. 

But  while  the  Lord  is  with  Israel,  it  is  said  of  their 
king  that  he  shall  pass  before,  or  precede  them  to  that 
unknown  country  to  which  they  are  going.  It  is  for 
this  reason  that  Hosea  says,  “The  children  of  Israel 
shall  abide  many  days  without  a  king,  and  without  a 
sacrifice,  and  without  an  image,”  or,  as  the  marginal 
reading  gives  it,  “without  a  standing  pillar”  Young, 
in  his  Exhaustive  Concordance,  gives  among  other  defi¬ 
nitions  of  the  original  Hebrew  word,  both  that  of 
memorial  stone  and  pillar .  Other  scholarly  men  who 
have  investigated  this  text,  in  connection  with  its  con¬ 
text,  even  give  us  pillar-rock  and  pillar-stone  as  the 
correct  rendering. 

All  this,  supplemented  by  the  fact  that  the  word  of 
God  associates  the  absent  king  with  the  absent  pillar- 
stone,  justifies  our  conclusion,  that  the  pillar  in  ques¬ 
tion  is  the  Bethel  pillar  stone  which  was  used  as  a 
coronation  stone,  consequently  it  was  left  with  the 
royal  family  which  ruled  over  the  Jews  until  the  over¬ 
throw  of  Zedekiah. 


The  Other  Overturns 


249 


We  must  also  remember  that  Jeremiah  and  his  little 
remnant  were  taken,  against  their  will,  and  against  the 
direct  command  of  God,  to  Egypt,  and  that  while  there 
I  they  dwelt  in  Taphanhes.  Morton  W.  Spencer  says, 
“It  is  an  undeniable  historical  fact  that  about  580 
B.  C.  (i.  e.,  the  very  time  of  the  captivity  of  the  Jews 
in  Babylon),  that  a  princess  from  the  East  did  arrive 
in  the  north  of  Ireland.  Her  name  was  Tephi,  a  pet 
name  like  “Violet,”  denoting  beauty,  fragrance.  Tea 
Tephi  was  her  full  name,  found  in  Hebrew.  The  Tea, 
a  little  one,  and  Tephi  answering  to  a  surname. 
Taph>  the  root  word,  is  used  in  many  scriptures  (Gen. 
34:29,  and  Deut.  1:39)  ( Vide  Concordance).  Her 
names  were  interchangeably  used  as  Tea,  Taffe,  Taffes, 
Tephi,  the  Eastern  Princess,  the  Daughter  of  Pharaoh, 
and  Tea  Tephi;  either  of  these  serve  to  identify  her  as 
The  King  s  Daughter.”  In  Egypt  she  was  offered 
protection,  and  from  her  the  city  of  Taphanhes  or 
Dahpnse  was  named,  doubtless,  and  to  this  day  we  are 
shown  the  site  of  “The  Palace  of  the  Jew’s  Daughter,” 
by  the  Arabs.  The  fact  that  she  fled  the  country  is 
still  preserved  in  her  name,  Tarah,  meaning  one  ban¬ 
ished  or  flight. 

The  name  of  Pharaoh  is  neither  a  given  nor  a  sur¬ 
name,  but  it  is  the  Egyptian  name  for  king  or  mon¬ 
arch.  The  very  fact  that  Irish  historians  called  Tea 
Tephi  “The  Daughter  of  Pharaoh”  is  proof  that  they 
knew  her  as  “The  King’s  Daughter.”  Also  this  name, 
“The  King’s  Daughter,”  is  the  only  one  used  in  the 
Bible  account  of  the  first  overturn  to  designate  that 
daughter  of  Zedekiah  who  succeeded  him  to  the  inher¬ 
itance  of  David’s  throne,  excepting,  of  course,  that 


250  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

metaphorical  name,  ‘Tender  twig,”  of  Ezekiel’s  rid¬ 
dle.  Since  the  name  Tea  means  “little  one  ”  and 
since  a  tender  twig  is  also  a  little  one,  it  certainly  takes 
no  great  stretch  of  faith  to  believe  that  these  two 
names  belong  to  one  and  the  same  person.  Especially 
is  this  the  case  when  we  consider  that  in  the  Tea  Tephi 
of  Irish  history  we  have  a  king’s  daughter,  with  a 
Hebrew  name,  who  not  only  came  from  the  East,  but 
also  from  Egypt,  and  who  is  the  daughter  of  a  Jew. 

But  there  are  still  other  facts  connected  with  the 
arrival  of  this  princess  in  Ireland,  which,  as  we  con¬ 
sider  them,  will  strengthen  our  faith  more  and  more. 
Tea  Tephi  was  accompanied  by  an  aged  guardian,  who 
was  called  Ollam  Folia,  more  Hebrew  words  which 
mean  revealer,  or  prophet.  The  prophet  was  accom¬ 
panied  by  a  man  who  was  his  scribe,  whom  the  chron¬ 
icles  of  Ireland  called  Brug,  or  Bruch.  Baruch  was 
Jeremiah’s  scribe  while  they  were  in  Judea;  he  went 
with  the  little  remnant  to  Egypt,  and  escaped  when 
the  rest  did ;  for  his  life,  like  the  lives  of  the  rest  of  his 
party,  was  to  be  preserved  in  all  places  whither  he 
should  go.  This  little  company  disappeared  from 
Egypt,  but  surely  they  reappeared  in  Ireland,  for,  mar¬ 
vel  of  marvels !  they  brought  with  them  a  pillar-stone, 
which  has  ever  since  been  used  as  the  coronation  stone 
of  the  kingdom . 

Later,  Tea  (sometimes  spelled  Teah)  Tephi  herself 
was  crowned  upon  this  pillar-stone,  and  the  name  of 
Erin's  capital  was  changed  from  Cathair  Crofin  to 
Tara,  which  is  also  another  Hebrew  word.  But  at  this 


251 


The  Other  Overturns 

juncture  history  comes  to  our  help,  and  with  unques¬ 
tioned  authority  declares  that,  from  that  time  until  the 
present,  every  king  and  queen  who  has  reigned  in  Ire¬ 
land,  Scotland  or  England  has  been  crowmed  upon  that 
self-same  pillar  or  coronation  stone.  Queen  Victoria 
herself  was  twice  crowned  upon  that  stone,  the  first 

time  as  Queen  of  England,  and  the  second  time  as 
Empress  of  India. 

On  the  occasion  of  Queen  Victoria’s  coronation, 
June  28th,  1837,  an  article  appeared  in  the  London 
Sun,  which  gives  a  description  of  the  coronation  chair 
and  the  coronation  stone,  as  follows :  “This  chair,  com¬ 
monly  called  St.  Edward  s  chair,  is  an  ancient  seat  of 
solid  hardw  ood,  with  back  and  sides  of  the  same,  vari¬ 
ously  painted,  in  which  the  kings  of  Scotland  were  in 
former  periods  constantly  crowned,  but,  having  been 
brought  out  of  the  kingdom  by  Edward  I,  in  the  year 
1296,  after  he  had  totally  overcome  John  Baliol,  king 
of  Scots,  it  has  ever  since  remained  in  the  Abbey  of 
Westminster,  and  has  been  the  chair  in  which  the  suc¬ 
ceeding  kings  and  queens  of  this  realm  have  been 
inaugurated.  It  is  in  height  six  feet  and  seven  inches, 
in  breadth  at  the  bottom  thirty-eight  inches,  and  in 
depth  twenty-four  inches ;  from  the  seat  to  the  bottom 
is  twenty-five  inches ;  the  breadth  of  the  seat  within  the 
sides  is  twenty-eight  inches,  and  the  depth  eighteen 
inches.  At  nine  inches  from  the  ground  is  a  board, 
supported  at  the  four  corners  by  as  many  lions.  Be¬ 
tween  the  seat  and  this  board  is  enclosed  a  stone,  com¬ 
monly  called  Jacob’s,  or  the  fatal  Marble,  Stone,  which 


252  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

is  an  oblong  of  about  twenty-two  inches  in  length,  thir¬ 
teen  inches  broad  and  eleven  inches  deep ;  of  a  steel 
color,  mixed  with  some  veins  of  red.  History  relates 
that  it  is  the  stone  whereon  the  patriarch  Jacob  laid  his 
head  in  the  plains  of  Luz.”  This,  as  you  see,  was 
published  more  than  sixty  years  ago,  before  it  was 
thought  possible  that  the  Anglo-Saxons  were  the  de¬ 
scendants  of  Joseph,  the  inheritor  of  the  birthright 
blessing  which  God  gave  to  his  fathers,  Abraham, 
Isaac  and  Jacob. 

This  article  further  says  that  “this  stone  was  con¬ 
veyed  into  Ireland  by  way  of  Spain  about  700  years  be¬ 
fore  Christ.  From  there  it  was  taken  into  Scotland  by 
King  Fergus,  about  370  years  later;  and  in  the  year 
350  B.  C,  it  was  placed  in  the  abbey  of  Scone,  by 
King  Kenneth,  who  caused  a  prophetical  verse  to  be 
engraved  upon  it,  of  which  the  following  is  a  transla¬ 
tion  : 

“  'Should  fate  not  fail,  where'er  this  stone  is  found, 

The  Scots  shall  monarch  of  that  realm  be  crowned.' 

“This  antique  regal  chair,  having  (together  with  the 
golden  sceptre  and  crown  of  Scotland)  been  solemnly 
offered  by  King  Edward  I.  to  St.  Edward  the  Con¬ 
fessor,  in  the  year  1297  (from,  whence  it  derives  the 
appellation  of  St.  Edward's  chair),  has  ever  since  been 
kept  in  the  chapel  called  by  his  name;  with  a  tablet 
affixed  to  it,  whereon  several  Latin  verses  are  written, 
in  old  English  characters.  *  *  *  The  stone  main¬ 

tains  its  usual  place  under  the  seat  of  the  chair." 

Prior  to  the  time  that  King  Kenneth  had  his  verse 
engraved  on  that  Coronation  Stone,  there  was  a 


The  Other  Overturns  253 

prophetic  verse  which  had  attached  itself  to  it,  which 

Sir  Walter  Scott  has  rendered,  one  word  excepted,  as 
follows : 

Unless  the  fates  are  faithless  grown, 

And  prophet’s  voice  be  vain, 

Where’er  is  found  this  sacred  stone 
The  Wanderers’  Race  shall  reign.” 

Think  of  it !  For  more  than  seven  hundred  years  this 
stone  has  been  in  Westminster  Abbey.  Dean  Stanley, 
in  his  “Memorials  of  Westminster  Abbey,”  says :  “The 
chief  object  of  attraction,  to  this  day,  to  the  innumer¬ 
able  visitors  to  the  Abbey,  is  probably  that  ancient 
Irish  monument  of  the  empire  known  as  the  Coronation 
Stone.”  He  calls  it  a  “Precious  Relic,”  and  says  that 
King  Edward  I.  said  that  “It  is  the  one  primeval  mon¬ 
ument  which  binds  together  the  whole  empire.”  The 
Dean  further  adds :  “The  iron  rings,  the  battered  sur¬ 
face,  the  crack,  which  has  all  but  rent  its  solid  mass 
asunder,  bear  witness  to  its  long  migrations.  It  is 
thus  embedded  in  the  heart  of  the  English  monarchy, 

an  element  of  poetic,  patriarchal,  heathen  times, 
which  like  Araunah’s  threshing  floor  in  the  midst  of 
the  temple  of  Solomon  carries  back  our  thoughts  to 
races  and  customs  now  almost  extinct,  a  link  which 
unites  the  throne  of  England  with  the  traditions  of 
Tara  and  Iona,  and  connects  the  charm  of  our  complex 
civilization  with  the  favors  of  Mother  Earth,  the  stocks 
and  stones  of  savage  nature.  Faithful  or  foolish,  the 
sentiment  of  the  nation  has,  through  three  hundred  gen¬ 
erations  of  living  men,  made  it  felt  that  Jacob’s  Pillar 
Stone  was  a  thing  worth  dying  for  in  battle.  By  the 


254  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

treaty  of  Northampton  in  1328,  the  emeralds,  pearls, 
and  rubies  were  carried  off  without  a  murmur.  But 
the  Ragged  Old  Stone — Oh  no ! — the  Londoners  would 
have  died  for  that!  The  stone  of  Scone,  on  which  it 
was  the  custom  for  the  kings  of  Scotland  to  be  set  at 
their  coronation,  the  Londoners  would  on  no  account 
suffer  to  be  sent  away." 

Dr.  Poole  says :  “This  stone  is  a  dull,  reddish  or 
purplish  sandstone,  with  a  few  small  embedded  peb¬ 
bles  ;  one  of  these  is  quartz  and  two  others  of  a  dark 
material.  The  rock  is  calcareous  and  is  of  that  kind 
which  masons  call  freestone.  Chisel  marks  are  visible 
on  one  or  more  of  its  sides."  There  is  no  rock  of  this 
kind  in  England,  Ireland  or  Scotland.  But  the  Rev. 
Canon  Tristram  says  that  there  is  a  stratum  of  sand¬ 
stone  near  the  Dead  Sea  just  like  this  stone,  which  by 
the  English  people  is  called  Jacob's  Pillow  Stone. 

This  stone  is  called  by  the  Irish  and  by  the  Scotch 
“Lia  Fail"  and  “The  Stone  of  Destiny."  In  Irish  Lia 
is  stone  and  Fail  is  fate,  hence,  the  stone  of  fate,  or  the 
stone  of  destiny.  But  it  is  that  only  because  it  is 
Jacob's  Pillow-Pillar  Stone.  This  is  the  reason  that 
Tea  Tephi  was  called  “The  Daughter  of  God's  House." 
(Log,  or  Lug,  Celtic  for  God,  and  Aidh ,  a  house; 
hence  the  word  Lughaidh.)  Amergin,  chief  bard  to 
King  Dermod,  monarch  of  Ireland  in  the  sixth  cen¬ 
tury,  in  the  “Notes  of  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Mas¬ 
ters,"  refers  to  Tea  Tephi  as  follows: 

“A  rampart  was  raised  around  her  house, 

For  Teah,  the  daughter  of  Lughaidh, 

She  was  buried  outside  in  her  mound, 

And  from  her  it  was  named  Tea-mur." 


The  Other  Overturns  255 

The  parentage  here  assigned  to  Tea  Tephi  could 
have  been  for  no  other  reason  than  that  she  was  the 
daughter  of  God  s  house,”  to  the  people  to  whom  she 
brought  God  s  house,”  the  Stone,  which  was  their 
Shepherd-stone,  i.  e.,  Bethel.  Morton  W.  Spencer 
says  that  Lia  (sometimes  spelled  Leag)  is  an  Irish 
word  and  means  “a  stone,”  but  that  Phail  is  Hebrew, 
and  is  itself  a  Scripture  word,  and  is  of  the  deepest 
import,  for  it  means  wonderful,  and  is  so  translated  in 
Isa.  9 : 6.  This  we  have  verified,  and  it  clinches  our 
thought  that  the  Bethel  stone,  or  Lia  Fail,  the  Stone 
Wonderful,  is  indeed  a  symbol  of  that  Divine  Rock, 
that  Wonderful  One,  the  Rock  of  Our  Salvation. 

The  fact  that  there  are  iron  rings  in  the  stone  which 
is  in  the  Coronation  Chair,  and  that  they  are  worn,  is 
remarkable.  The  question  arises,  How  and  when  were 
they  worn  ?  It  could  not  have  been  in  the  royal  halls 
of  Tara,  nor  in  the  abbey  of  Scone,  nor  since  it  came 
to  Westminster,  nor  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem ;  but 
surely  it  could  have  been  when,  for  forty  years,  Israel 
journeyed  through  the  wilderness,  and  had  both  literal 
and  spiritual  drink  from  their  Shepherd  rocks  that  fol¬ 
lowed  them. 

.  The  modern  classic  Hebrew  uses  little  dots  like  pe¬ 
riods  to  represent  the  vowel  sounds.  These  dots  are 
placed  in  various  positions  about  the  alphabetical  char¬ 
acters  which  represent  the  consonant  sounds.  But  it 
is  a  well  known  fact  that  in  ancient  Hebrew  writings, 
both  secular  and  sacred,  there  are  no  characters,  not 
even  the  little  dots,  to  represent  the  vowel  sounds. 
Hence,  the  vowels  are  absolutely  unwritten,  and  the 
consonants  of  a  word  are  so  arranged  that  the  speaker 


256  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

is  compelled  to  give  the  vowel  sound  while  pronouncing 
the  consonants.  Take,  for  instance,  the  word  Bethel. 
There,  in  the  original,  we  have  only  that  which  is 
equivalent  to  the  English  B-th-1.  At  Bethel,  as  we 
have  already  shown,  when  Jacob  set  up  the  Bethel 
stone,  he  used  it  for  an  altar,  at  which  he  worshipped, 
and  upon  which  he  made  his  vow.  Prof.  Totten,  of 
New  Haven,  says:  “The  altars  of  ancient  Ireland  were 
called  Botal  or  Bothal,  meaning  the  house  of  God.” 
That  is,  it  is  the  Hebrew  word  B-th-1,  and  has  the  same 
meaning. 

Thus  the  Bethel  stone  again  proves  itself  to  be  a  per¬ 
fect  type  of  Christ,  for  although  Christ  is  many  other 
things,  he  is  also  the  Christian’s  altar.  Proof :  Jesus 
said  to  the  Pharisees :  “Whether  is  greater,  the  gift  or 
the  altar  that  sanctifieth  the  gift?”  In  this  we  see  that 
the  altar  is  that  which  sanctifies.  Elsewhere  we  are  told 
that  “Jesus  Christ,  of  God,  is  made  unto  us  sanctifica¬ 
tion.”  Since  it  is  the  altar  which  does  the  sanctifying, 
then  he  who  sanctifies  is  the  altar.  Thus,  it  is  written, 
“We  have  an  altar,  whereof  they  have  no  right  to  eat 
which  serve  the  tabernacle.  *  *  *  Wherefore  Jesus 
also,  that  he  might  sanctify  the  people  (i.e.,  do  that 
which  the  altar  does)  with  his  own  blood,  suffered 
without  the  gate.” 

Yes,  the  Altar-Shepherd  was  smitten,  and  concern¬ 
ing  that  other  rock,  Dean  Stanley  speaks  of  the  crack, 
which,  he  says,  “has  all  but  rent  its  solid  mass  asun¬ 
der.”  Could  it  be  possible  that  rent  was  made  when 
and  because  Moses  smote  the  rock  when  he  was  told  to 
speak  to  it  ?  But,  be  this  as  it  may,  history  has  made  it 
impossible  to  escape  the  fact  that,  like  a  true  Shepherd, 


The  Other  Overturns  257 

this  stone  has  followed  the  fortunes  and  misfortunes  of 
its  people  for  two  thousand  five  hundred  years. 

Joshua,  at  one  time,  took  a  stone,  set  it  up,  and  said 
unto  all  Israel.  “Behold,  this  stone  shall  be  a  witness 
unto  us;  for  it  hath  heard  all  the  words  of  the  Lord 
which  he  spake  unto  us :  it  shall  be  therefore  a  witness 
unto  you  lest  ye  deny  your  God.”  Thus  we  see  that  a 
stone  may  be  a  witness ;  and  the  historians  of  Great 
Britain,  either  wittingly  or  unwittingly,  have  made 
Lia  Fail  (sometimes  spelled  Leag  Phail)  a  witness  to 
an  unbroken  line  of  sovereigns,  for  it  has  been  the 
throne  upon  which  their  rulers  have  been  consecutively 
crowned,  ever  since  it  was  landed  in  Ireland. 

Further,  there  have  been  just  three  overturns  of  this 
kingdom.  The  first,  as  we  have  shown,  was  from 
Palestine  to  Tara,  in  the  plantation  of  Ulster,  through 
Tea  Tephi,  Jeremiah’s  ward,  the  “King’s  Daughter.” 
The  second  overturn  was  from  Ireland  to  Scotland, 
through  Fergus,  who  sent  for  Lia  Fail,  the  Stone  of 
Destiny,  and  had  it  brought  from  Tara  to  Iona,  where 
he  was  crowned.  The  third  overturn  was  from  Scot¬ 
land  to  England.  At  this  time  the  throne  was  brought 
from  Scotland  and  placed  in  Westminster  Abbey, 

where  it  rests  under  the  protection  of  the  greatest 
monarchy  on  earth. 

Hence,  if  this  Coronation  Stone  which  is  in  West- 
minster,  which  the  English  call  Jacob’s  Pillow,  and 
which  their  Scotch  and  Irish  ancestors  called  “God’s 
house,  B-th-1,  ’  “The  Stone  of  Destiny,”  and  “Leag 
Phail,  The  Stone  Wonderful,” — we  say,  if  this  stone 
is  indeed  what  these  names  and  what  its  history  declare 
it  to  be,  then  it  is  indeed  the  veritable  throne  of  Israel, 


258  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

upon  which  the  sons  of  David  were  formally  crowned 
in  the  Temple  of  God  at  Jerusalem.  Consequently,  in 
this  also,  God  has  kept  faith  with  David,  and  preserved 
his  throne  through  all  generations  that  are  past. 

This  makes  us  feel  like  singing  the  Doxology,  be¬ 
cause  it  is  just  as  it  should  be.  When  the  Bethel  stone 
was  in  Bethel  place,  it  was  “God’s  house,"  in  God’s 
house;  when  it  was  in  the  Temple,  it  was  still  God’s 
house,  in  God’s  house;  when,  as  one  of  the  jewels  of 
empire,  it  was  taken  by  Teah,  the  “tender  twig,’’  and 
placed  in  the  heights  of  Israel  in  the  islands  of  the  sea , 
it  was  still  God’s  house,  in  God's  house.  The  de¬ 
scendants  of  Teah  and  Herremon  are  the  custodians 
of  that  rock  today,  and  their  subjects  possess  all  the 
distinguishing  marks  whereby  prophecy  declares  the 
lost  house  of  God  shall  finally  be  recognized  and  found. 
And  in  the  midst  of  this  great  national  or  racial  house 
there  is  a  house  of  God,  a  “spiritual  house,”  which  is 
by  some  called  “Spiritual  Israel,"  and  which  is,  like  lit¬ 
eral  Israel  was,  founded  on  a  rock. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


DAN — THE  SERPENT'S  TRAIL. 

The  question  naturally  arises,  “How  did  the  prince, 
the  highest  branch  of  the  cedar  of  Lebanon,  get  to 
the  isles  of  the  sea?”  To  get  to  the  bottom  of  that 
which  is  involved  in  the  reply  to  this  question  we  will 
need  to  understand  some  of  the  characteristics,  and 
acquaint  ourselves  with  some  of  the  prophecies,  which 
pertain  to  the  tribe  of  Dan. 

The  prophecies  which  dying  Jacob  gave  concerning 
what  the  posterity  of  each  of  his  sons  was  to  become 
in  the  last  days,  is  recorded  in  the  forty-ninth  chap¬ 
ter  of  Genesis.  In  the  seventeenth  verse  is  a  part  of 
the  prophecy  concerning  the  tribe  of  Dan,  the  first 
clause  of  which,  according  to  the  King  James’  transla¬ 
tion,  jeads  as  follows :  “Dan  shall  be  a  serpent  by  the 
way.”  But  a  better  translation  is  as  follows :  “Dan 
shall  be  a  serpent’s  trail.”  A  few  points  in  the  history 

of  the  children  of  Dan  will  show  us  how  they  became 
a  serpent’s  trail. 

In  the  division  of  the  land  by  lot,  a  narrow  strip 
of  seacoast  country,  west  of  Ephraim  and  Benjamin, 
fell  to  Dan.  But  this  country  soon  became  too  small 
for  the  tribe,  as  we  are  told  in  the  following:  “The 
coast  of  the  children  of  Dan  went  out  too  little  for 
them ,  therefore  the  children  of  Dan  went  up  to  fight 
against  Leshem,  and  took  it,  and  smote  it  with  the  edge 

259 


260  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

of  the  sword,  and  possessed  it,  and  dwelt  therein,  and 
called  Leshem,  Dan,  after  the  name  of  Dan,  their 
father.”  (Joshua  19:47.) 

Concerning  the  Danites,  we  have  also  the  follow¬ 
ing  :  “And  there  went  from  thence  of  the  family  of 
the  Danites,  out  of  Zorah  and  out  of  Eshtaol,  six 
hundred  men  appointed  with  weapons  of  war.  And 
they  went  up,  and  pitched  in  Kirjath-jearim,  in  Judah; 
wherefore  they  called  that  place  Mahaneh-daw  unto 
this  day.”  (Judges  18:11-12.) 

Again  we  are  told  concerning  this  same  company  of 
six  hundred  that  they  came  to  Laish,  “A  people  that 
were  at  quiet  and  secure;  and  they  smote  them  with 
the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  burnt  the  city  with  fire. . . . 
And  they  built  a  city  and  dwelt  therein.  And  they 
called  the  name  of  the  city  Dan,  after  the  name  of  Dan, 
their  father,  who  was  born  unto  Israel;  howbeit  the 
name  of  the  city  was  Laish  at  the  first.”  (Judges 
18:29.) 

A  company  of  Danites  went  to  Leshem,  and  it 
became  Dan.  A  company  of  Dan- ites  went  to  Kirjath- 
jearim,  and  it  became  Mahaneh-Dan.  They  went  on 
to  Laish,  and  it  ceased  to  exist,  but  they  left  their 
trail,  i.  e.,  Dan,  the  name  of  their  father,  and  thus  their 
trail  can  be  traced,  not  only  from  Dan  to  Beer-Sheba, 
but  to  the  islands  of  the  sea  both  by  land  and  by 
water,  for  Dan  had  an  inland  country  and  a  coast 
country.  The  inland  company  of  Danites  went  west 
with  the  Overland  Column,  and  the  coast  company 
went  by  water,  for  “Dan  abode  in  his  ships.” 

Thus  we  have  the  prophecy  concerning  the  ships  of 
Tarshish,  i.  e.,  the  ends  of  the  world:  “Be  still 


26 1 


Dan — The  Serpent’s  Trail 

(margin:  silent)  ye  inhabitants  of  ihe  isles;  thou 
whom  the  merchants  of  Zidon,  that  pass  over  the  sea, 
have  replenished.”  (Isa.  23:2.)  Also,  in  the  sixth 
verse,  is  the  following :  “Pass  ye  over  to  Tarshish ; 
howl,  ye  inhabitants  of  the  isle.  Is  this  your  joyous 
city  (Tyre)  whose  antiquity  is  of  ancient  days?  Her 
own  feet  (means  of  travel)  shall  carry  her  afar  off  to 
sojourn.” 

In  these  scriptures  we  are  informed  that  the  isles 
of  the  sea  were  replenished  by  the  ships  whose  seaports 
were  Tyre  and  Zidon,  which  were  ports  of  Palestine. 
Also  the  people  by  whom  the  islands  were  replenished, 
or  peopled,  are  commanded  to  keep  silent;  just  as 
this  same  prophet,  in  another  place,  commands  Israel 
in  the  island  to  keep  silent  until  they  should  renew 
their  strength. 

When  Shalmanesar  descended  upon  Israel,  he  did 
not  disturb  those  portions  of  the  tribes  of  Dan  and 
Simeon,  which  were  dwelling  on  the  southwest  coast 
of  Palestine,  for  the  kingdom  of  Judah  was  then  at 
peace  with  Assyria  and  lay  between  them  and  Samaria. 
However,  both  Dan  and  Simeon  had  large  colonies  in 
the  interior,  Dan  in  the  north  (Judges  18)  and  Simeon 
in  the  east,  at  Mount  Sier,  the  region  formerly  occu¬ 
pied  by  the  Amelekites  (1  Chron.  4:42-43).  These 
portions  of  Dan  and  Simeon  went  with  the  rest  of 
Samaria-Israel  into  Assyria,  and  with  them  passed  out 
through  the  Caucasian  Pass.  The  territory  into  and 
through  which  the  ten  tribes  made  their  escape  was 
just  north  of  the  Caucasus,  which  in  ancient  geog¬ 
raphy,  as  may  be  seen  by  consulting  ancient  maps, 
was  known  as  the  territory  of  the  Sarmatians,  while 


262  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

the  pass,  or  gate,  was  sometimes  called  “The  Sarma- 
tian  Gate.”  Not  a  few  have  shown,  and  upon  good 
grounds,  that  the  name  of  Sarmatia  was  derived  from 
Samaria,  the  earlier  home  of  these  wandering  people, 
whose  general  name  among  themselves  was  Scoloti, 
but  whom  the  Greeks  called  Scythians,  or  Nomades. 
From  that  word  Scoloti  we  have  the  more  modern 
name  Scoti,  and  the  still  more  modern  Scots ,  which, 
of  course,  mean  the  same  as  the  Greek,  Scythia  and 
Nomades,  i.  e.,  wanderers. 

But  this  is  only  one  of  the  many  names  by  which 
these  wanderers,  or  Scots,  may  be  traced,  for  in  their 
western  march  across  the  European  continent,  which 
was  necessarily  slow,  Ephraim  did  obey  the  prophetic 
injunction,  <(Set  thee  up  waymarks”  (Jer.  31:21.) 
And  just  here  we  must  keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  in 
the  ancient  Hebrew  there  are  no  written  vowels,  and 
that  in  the  word  Dan  there  are  only  two  letters  used 
which  are  equivalent  to  the  English  D  and  N.  Hence 
it  makes  no  difference  if  the  word  is  Dan,  Don,  Dun, 
Din  or  Den,  it  is  equal  to  the  Hebrew  D-n,  in  which 
the  speaker  sounds  the  vowel  according  to  character¬ 
istics  of  his  own  dialect. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  Black  Sea,  there  is,  accord¬ 
ing  to  ancient  geography,  a  region  which  was  called 
“Moesia,”  signifying  the  land  of  the  Moses-ites,  and 
the  people  of  which  were  called  Moesi,  or  Mosesites. 
These  people  had  such  great  reverence  for  a  person 
whom  they  called  Zal-moxis,  whom  Herodotus,  the 
father  of  history,  supposed  to  be  their  God,  and  con¬ 
cerning  whom  he  concludes  his  account  as  follows: 
“Zalmoxis  must  have  lived  many  years  before 


Dan — The  Serpent's  Trail  263 

Pythagoras ;  whether  therefore  he  was  a  man  or  a 
deity  of  the  Getae,  enough  has  been  said  of  him."  T. 
R.  Howlett  says,  “Zalmoxis,  whom  Herodotus  sup¬ 
posed  them  to  worship  as  a  god,  is  without  doubt 
Moses ;  Zal  signifying  “chief,”  or  “leader,”  while 
Moxis  and  Moses  are  but  the  Greek  for  the  Hebrew 
Mosie,  which  is  also  rendered  Moses  in  our  tongue.” 

Moesia  was  bounded  on  the  south  by  Mace-Dan-ia 
and  the  Dar-DAN-ells,  and  on  the  north  by  the  river 
DAN-ube.  In  the  territory  of  Sarmatia,  which  in  some 
maps  is  Scythia,  in  others  Gomer,  there  are  the  rivers 
D-n-iper,  D-n-ister,  and  the  Don.  The  fact  that  the 
Dnieper  and  the  Dniester  are  written  without  a  vowel 
between  the  D  and  the  N  is  quite  as  significant  as  the 
fact  that  the  Don  has  one. 

Professor  Totten  says:  “There  is  no  grander  theme 
upon  the  scrolls  of  history  than  the  story  of  this  strug¬ 
gle  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  westward.  The  very  streams 
of  Europe  mark  their  resting-places,  and  in  the  root  of 
nearly  all  their  ancient  names  (Dan,  or  Don)  recall 
the  sacred  stream,  Jor -dan — river  of  rest — from  whose 
banks,  so  far  away,  as  exiles,  they  set  out.  It  was 
either  the  little  colony  of  Dan,  obeying  its  tribal  pro¬ 
clivity  for  naming  everything  it  captured  (Jud.  18:1- 
12-29)  after  their  father,  or  else  the  mere  survival  of 
a  word  and  custom;  but,  none  the  less,  it  serves  to 
trace  these  wanderers  like  a  trail.  Hence  the  Dan- ube, 
the  Dan-ieper,  the  Dan- iester,  the  Dan- au,  the  Dan- inn, 
the  Dan-aster,  the  Dan- dari,  the  Dan-ez,  the  Daci  and 
Davi,  the  Dan,  the  Don,  the  U -Don,  the  Eri-don,  and 
the  thousand  other  dans  and  dons  of  ancient  and  early 
geography,  down  to  the  Danes  in  Dan-en^rke,  or 


264  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

'‘Dan’s  last  resting  place.”  To  this  we  would  add, 
that,  during  all  these  years  of  blindness  concerning 
the  birthright  tribes,  the  people  of  Den-mark  have  been 
called  DAN-es,  and  that  the  people  in  contiguous  coun¬ 
tries,  while  having  different  local  names,  have  been 
called  by  the  same  generic  name,  i.  e., 

Scan-DiN-navians. 

Also  that  Denmark,  the  modern  form  of  Danemerke, 
means  "Dan’s  mark” :  that  too,  to  the  people  of  the 
lost  birthright.  The  very  people  who  have  hunted 
most  for  the  way-marks  which  God  told  them  to  set 
up. 

All  that  Scandinavian  country,  and  much  more, 
once  belonged  to  Denmark,  which  is  now  reduced  to 
a  comparatively  small  region.  Yet  we  believe  that 
little  kingdom  will  stand  until  the  end  of  this  age. 
When  dying  Jacob  called  his  sons  together  about  him 
that  he  might  tell  them  what  their  posterity  should 
become  in  the  last  days,  he  began  his  prophecy  con¬ 
cerning  Dan  as  follows:  "Dan  shall  judge  his  people 
as  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel.”  Then,  immediately 
following,  is  the  expression,  "Dan  shall  be  a  serpent 
by  the  way.”  (Isaac  Leeser’s  translation.) 

In  this  prophecy  Jacob  does  not  say,  as  many  seem 
to  think,  that  Dan  in  the  last  days  shall  become  the 
ruler  of  the  other  tribes  of  Israel ;  for  the  Eternal  One 
has  said,  "Judah  is  my  law  giver.”  But  what  Jacob 
does  say  is,  that  Dan  as  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel 
shall  render  a  verdict,  or  judge  his  people  Israel. 
How?  Because  he  shall,  like  a  serpent,  leave  his 
mark  or  trail,  that  Israel  may  find  it  in  the  last  days, 
and  that  they  may  say,  "There  is  one  of  the  lost  tribes 


Dan — The  Serpent’s  Trail  265 

of  Israel.”  When  this  verdict  has  been  rendered,  then 
Dan  will  have  judged  his  people  Israel.  It  may  be 
that  the  word  Israel,  as  used  in  the  prophecy  above,  is 
used  in  its  broadest  sense,  and  includes  both  the  house 
of  Israel  and  the  house  of  Judah.  We  are  inclined  to 
this  opinion,  for  reasons  which  follow : 

When  Dan  was  born,  Rachel  said  :  “God  hath  judged 
me,  and  hath  also  heard  my  voice,  and  hath  given  me 
a  son ;  therefore  she  called  his  name  Dan.”  The  word 
in  Hebrew  means  “Judge”  and  Daniel  means  “The 
judge  of  God.”  Thus  Dan  “ judge,”  and  El  “God,” 
hence  Daniel,  the  judge  of  God.  Thus  Jacob  in  his  last 
day’s  prophecy  concerning  the  tribe  of  Dan  plays  on 
their  tribal  name,  and  says  the  judge  shall  judge,  or,  in 
other  words,  that  Dan  shall  Dan.  What?  Dan  shall 
Dan  !  Yes ;  and  he  certainly  has  Dan-e d,  and  Dan-t d, 
and  Dan-e d,  and  kept  on  Dan-ing  until  he  has  given 
abundant  evidence  to  his  people  that  he  is  one  of  the 

tribes  of  Israel,  for  they  now  see  the  mark  of  his  trail, 
i.  e.,  Dan. 

It  is  now  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  since 
a  Danish  peasant,  who,  with  his  daughter,  was  follow¬ 
ing  their  plow  in  their  native  country,  when  the  daugh¬ 
ter  s  plow  turned  up  a  bright  and  glittering  something, 
which  upon  examination  proved  to  be  a  golden  trumpet. 
It  was  taken  to  the  authorities,  and,  beyond  all  doubt, 
identified  as  one  of  the  Seven  Golden  Trumpets  used 
in  the  altar  service  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem 1  This 
trumpet,  which  is  now  in  the  National  Museum  at 
Copenhagen,  is  ornamented  with  a  lily  and  pomegranate 

the  lily  being  the  national  flower  of  Egypt,  and  the 
pomegranate  that  of  Palestine — thus  showing  the  half 


266  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Egyptian  and  half  Israelitish  origin  of  the  birthright 
nation  of  which  the  tribe  of  Dan  was  a  part. 

Just  before  Moses  died,  he,  like  Jacob,  gave  prophe¬ 
cies  concerning  each  tribe  in  Israel,  and  of  Dan  he  said : 
“Dan  is  a  lion’s  whelp;  he  shall  leap  from  Basham” 
Bashan  was  on  Palestinean  territory,  hence  Dan  is  to 
leap  from  that  country,  but  it  is  left  for  history  to  tell 
where  that  leap  landed  him.  And  it  is  a  well-authenti¬ 
cated  fact  that,  after  the  coast  colonies  of  Dan  and 
Simeon  knew  that  their  king  and  their  brethren  were 
defeated,  then  they  embarked  in  their  ships  and  fled 
to  the  islands  of  the  sea  which  are  to  the  northwest  of 
Europe.  For  the  people  who  are  known  by  all  his¬ 
torians  to  have  been  the  first  settlers  of  Ireland  are 
called  “Tuatha  de  Danaans,”  which  literally  means 
“The  tribe  of  Dan.”  These  Danaans  of  Ireland  corre¬ 
spond  to  the  Danaoi  of  the  Greeks,  and  Latin  Danaus, 
and  the  Hebrew  Dan. 

The  Lord,  by  the  mouth  of  the  Psalmist,  declares 
that  “He  breaketh  (or  driveth)  the  ships  of  Tarshish 
with  an  east  wind.”  As  these  Si-dan-ians  from  the 
port  of  Si -don  are  driven,  like  Ephraim,  west  by  an 
east  wind,  they  not  only  leave  their  trail  along  the 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean  in  Dens,  Dins  and  Dons, 
but  on  the  Peninsula  of  Spain.  Just  before  passing  out 
through  the  strait  into  the  great  waters  they  left  a 
mark  that  remains  unto  this  day,  i.  e.,  Me-rfiw-a  Si- 
don- ia. 

That  Dan’s  leap  landed  him  in  Ireland  is  evident, 
for  in  that  island  we  find  to  this  day  Dans- Lough,  Daw- 
Sower,  Dan-Monism,  Dnw-dalke,  Dnn-drum,  Dan-e- 
gal  Bay  and  Dan-egal  City,  with  Dnn-glow  and 


Dan — The  Serpent’s  Trail  267 

Lon-cfew-derry  just  north  of  them.  But  there  is  also 
Din-gie,  Dun-garven  and  Duns- more,  which  means 

Afore  Dan  s.  And,  really,  there  are  so  many  more 
that  we  have  no  space  for  them,  except  to  mention  Dan- 
gan  Castle,  where  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  bom, 
and  to  say  that  Dunn  in  the  Irish  language  means  just 
what  Dan  means  in  the  Hebrew,  i.  e.,  a  judge. 

It  is  remarkable  that  there  is  not  only  a  river  Don 
in  Scotland,  but  also  a  river  Doon,  and  that  there  is  also 
a  river  Don  in  England.  Also  that  these  countries  are 
as  full  of  Dans,  Dons  and  Duns  as  Ireland,  for  in  them 
are  not  only  such  names  as  Dundee,  Dunkirk,  Dunbar, 
Dnnraven,  and  many  others,  but  the  name  of  Dan,  the 
son  of  Jacob,  son  of  Isaac,  son  of  Abraham,  lies  buried 
in  the  name  of  their  capital  cities,  i.  e.,  E-rfw-burgh 
and  Lon -don.  Surely  Dan  hath  Dan-ed,  or  judged 

among  his  people,  and  thus  fulfilled  the  sure  word  of 
prophecy. 

We  are  told  that,  in  the  days  of  Solomon,  “Every 
three  years  came  the  ships  of  Tarshish.”  Eight  hun¬ 
dred  and  sixty  years  before  Christ  we  are  told  that 
Jonah  went  to  Joppa,  a  seaport  within  the  borders  of 
Dan,  and  found  a  ship  going  to  Tarshish,  and  that  he 
took  passage  in  it  to  go  to  Tarshish  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord.  Just  how  long  the  ships  of  Palestinean 
seaports  had  been  replenishing,  or  colonizing,  the  isles, 
even  before  the  Assyrian  captivity  of  the  ten  tribes,  is 
not  known,  but  historians  place  the  time  as  early  as  900 
B.  C.  This  gives  abundant  time  for  some  prince  of  the 
Zarah  branch  of  Judah’s  family  to  have  preceded  Israel 
to  the  isles,  and  to  have  had  a  large  colony  even  before 
the  Birthright  went  to  Assyria,  an  event  which  did  not 


268  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

occur  until  721  B.  C.  That  one  of  those  princes  did 
precede  Israel  to  the  isles  of  the  sea  is  evident;  first, 
because  God  says  he  did,  and,  second,  because  it  is 
recorded  in  the  Milesian  records  of  Ireland  that  the 


*«,«.«  S.9U.*** 


prince  Herremon,  to  whom  Tea  Tephi  was  married, 
was  a  prince  of  the  “Tuatha  de  Daanans 

Mark  this!  If  that  prince  was  a  prince  of  the  tribe 
of  Dan — and  authentic  history  declares  he  was — then 


Dan — The  Serpent’s  Trail  269 

he  was  a  prince  of  the  family  of  Judah,  for  there 
can  be  no  Prince  of  Dan  other  than  a  prince  of  the 
royal  family  of  his  race,  and  that  family  has  but  one 
fountain  head,  i.  e.,  Judah,  the  fourth  son  of  Jacob  and 
Leah,  to  whom  pertains  the  sceptre  blessing. 

But  this  rule  seems  to  have  worked  both  ways,  for 
the  family  ensign  of  Judah  is  a  lion,  and  since  one  of 
his  whelps  (young  lion)  went  to  the  northwest  isles 
with  Dan,  as  a  matter  of  course  the  ensign  of  his  fam- 
ily,  the  royal  family,  went  with  him.  Thus  it  became 
associated  with  the  “Tuatha  de  Daanans,”  the  tribe  of 
Dan,  and  in  time  found  its  way  into  their  national  seal. 
See  the  accompanying  cut. 

The  figure  on  this  seal  is  described  as  “A  Lion’s 
Whelp  with  a  Serpent’s  Tail."  The  largest  of  these 
represent  Denmark,  and  the  other  two  Norway  and 

Sweden,  which  were  at  that  time  under  the  dominion 
of  Denmark. 


CHAPTER  V. 


ISRAEL  IN  THE  ISLES. 

We  must  keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  the  Lord  cast 
Israel  afar  off  to  the  isles  of  the  sea ,  and  then,  through 
the  prophet  Isaiah,  commanded  silence  for  a  certain 
period,  or  until  the  people  should  have  renewed  their 
strength.  This  same  prophet,  in  the  first  verse  of  the 
forty-ninth  chapter,  again  addresses  the  people  who 
dwell  in  the  isles  as  follows:  “Listen,  O  isles,  unto 
me .  and  hearken,  ye  people  from  afar” ;  and  then  makes 
the  declaration :  “Thou  art  my  servant,  O  Israel,  in 
whom  I  will  be  glorified.,, 

Israel,  as  we  know,  was  cast  out  of  her  land  for 
idolatry,  and  Baal-ism  was  one  of  her  chief  idolatries. 
Before  she  was  cast  out  she  seems  to  have  acquired  the 
habit  of  attaching  the  name  of  the  god  Baal  to  places 
and  cities,  for  on  the  ancient  maps  of  Palestine  we  find 
Baal- meon,  5aa/-gad,  Baal- ath,  5aa/-shalisha,  Baal- 
tamar,  Baal- peor,  Baal- hazor,  Baal-ze phon,  Mt.  Baal - 
ah,  and  others. 

But  surely  these  people  carried  that  same  proclivity 
with  them  to  the  islands,  for  in  Ireland  this  name  of 
the  god  Baal  is  found  just  as  frequently,  if  not  more 
frequently,  a  circumstance  which  shows  that  this  idol 
was  honored  and  worshipped  by  her  eastern  colonists. 
The  Rev.  T.  R.  Howlett  furnishes  us  with  the  follow¬ 
ing-  list  of  Baal-it-ish  names  found  in  Ireland :  Baal-y- 
Bai,  5aa/-y-gowan,  5aa/-y-Nahinsh,  Baal- y-Castell, 

271 


272  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Baal- y-Moni,  Baal- y-ner,  Baal- y-Garai,  Baal-y-mh, 
Baal- y-Con-El,  Baal- y-Hy,  Paa/-y-Hull-Ish,  Baal- Nah- 
Brach,  Paa/-Athi,  Paa/-Dagon. 

Regarding  the  evidence  given  by  these  names,  How- 
lett  says :  “These  certainly  are  memorials  of  the  Baal 
worship  once  prevailing  in  Ireland.  In  them  we  have 
not  only  the  name  of  Baal,  but  its  conjunction  also 
with  other  Hebrew  names.  How  can  this  be  accounted 
for,  except  as  they  were  so  called  by  emigrants  from 
Phoenicia  and  Palestine? 

One  thing  that  particularly  marks  the  Hebrew  origin 
of  these  names  is  their  attachment  to  places  but  not  to 
persons .  The  Canaanites  and  Phoenicians,  attached 
the  names  of  their  gods,  Baal ,  Bal,  Bel  to  persons ,  as 
Eth -Baal,  Itho -bal,  Asdru-frai  and  Han-i-Z?a/.  These 
were  family  names  among  the  heathen  nations  sur¬ 
rounding  Israel.  In  like  manner,  we  find  among  the 
chosen  people  the  names  of  their  God  associated  with 
and  forming  a  part  of  family  and  personal  names;  as 
“El”  and  “Jah,”  in  Isra-e/,  Ishma-?/,  Lemu -el,  Samu -el, 
Ezeki -el,  El- isha  £/-ijah.  Baal  never  found  favor 
among  the  Hebrews  as  a  personal  name,  though  used 
freely  for  localities.  They  gave  it  to  their  towns,  but 
not  to  their  children.  Its  use  in  Ireland  is  proof  of  the 
Israelitish  origin  of  the  earliest  settlers — philological 
evidence  of  racial  unity.” 

But  this  custom  of  thus  using  the  name  of  Baal  has 
long  since  passed  away  from  the  descendents  of  those 
who  settled  in  “Innis  Phail” — an  Island  Wonderful 
— and  her  sister  isles.  These  islands  need  no  longer 
keep  silent,  for  their  people  have  renewed  their  strength 
and  thus  the  isles  are  yielding  up  their  secrets.  Hence, 


Israel  in  the  Isles 


273 


we  should  not  be  surprised  that  the  name  of  Baal  is  no 
longer  in  the  mouth  of  their  people.  By  the  mouth  of 
the  prophet  Hosea,  whom  the  Lord  used  to  declare  that 
he  would  hedge  up  the  way  of  Ephraim  Israel,  so  that 
she  could  not  find  her  paths,  he  also  says :  “I  will  take 
away  the  names  of  Baal-im  (plural  of  Baal)  out  of  her 
mouth,  and  they  shall  no  more  be  remembered  by  their 
name.”  (Hosea  2:17.) 

But  just  prior  to  this  saying  the  Lord  has  given  a 
prophecy,  of  which  this  is  but  a  part,  the  sequence  of 
that  which  precedes  it,  and  which  reads  as  follows: 
“Behold,  I  will  allure  her,  and  bring  her  into  the  wilder¬ 
ness  (the  hitherto  uninhabited  country),  and  speak 
comfortably  to  her  heart  (Margin).  And  I  will  give 
her  vineyards  from  thence  (there),  and  the  valley  of 
Achor  (sorrow)  for  a  door  of  hope;  and  she  shall  sing 
as  in  the  days  of  her  youth,  and  as  in  the  day  when  she 
came  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  And  it  shall  be  at  that 
day,  saith  the  Lord,  that  thou  shalt  call  me  Ishi  (my 
husband)  ;  and  shalt  call  me  no  more  Baali.  For  I  will 
take  away  the  names  of  Baalim  out  of  her  mouth.” 

All  idolatrous  names  were  taken  from  the  mouth  of 
Israel,  not  so  much  because  they  had  reached  that  God- 
appointed  place  where  they  were  to  be  moved  no  more, 
and  where  the  children  of  wickedness  were  not  to  waste 
them  as  at  the  first,  but  because  they  had  passed  out 
from  their  former  sorrow  through  the  door  of  hope, 
which  was  caused  by  the  fact  that  their  Lord  had 
spoken  comforting  words  to  their  hearts,  and  because 
she  could  look  up  in  love  to  him  and  say,  “Ishi — my 
husband.”  The  reason  for  this  heart-experienced  hope 
will  become  clearer  as  we  proceed  with  the  prophetic 


274  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

history  of  this  people,  whose  centralization  of  racial  life 
and  power  is  in  those  islands  which  are  northwest  of 

Palestine. 

But  in  this  same  forty-ninth  chapter  of  Isaiah,  after 
letting  us  know  that  Israel  is  located  in  the  isles,  the 
prophet  foretells  some  events  in  the  future  history  of 
that  island  nation.  Among  these  predicted  events  we 
find  the  following:  “Thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  Holy 
One:  In  the  time  of  favour  (grace)  have  I  heard 
thee,  and  in  the  day  of  salvation  (the  Christian  era) 
have  I  helped  thee :  and  I  will  preserve  thee,  and  I  will 
appoint  thee,  as  a  people  of  the  covenant ,  to  establish 
the  earth,  to  cause  (thee)  to  inherit  the  desolate  her¬ 
itages." 

In  this  quotation  we  have,  for  the  sake  of  clearness, 
followed  in  part  both  the  King  James  and  the  Isaac 
Leeser  translations.  The  italicized  phrase  is  from 
Leeser,  and  is  remarkable  for  its  clearness,  especially 
in  its  use  of  the  article  a  before  people,  because  Eph- 
raim-Israel,  although  not  all  the  people,  is  distinctly  a 
people ,  of  the  covenant ;  and  as  a  people  of  the  covenant 
she  is  appointed  to  establish,  people,  or  cause  to  be 
inhabited,  the  desolate,  uninhabited  places  of  the  earth. 
These  desolate  localities  are  given  to  Israel  as  an  in¬ 
heritance,  and  she  has  needed  them  in  fulfilling  the  des¬ 
tiny  of  the  Birthright  Kingdom  of  Israel — that  of  be¬ 
coming  many  nations,  or  a  company  of  nations. 

But  we  must  now  notice  the  word  covenant,  since  it 
is  used  in  the  phrase  as  a  people  of  the  covenant .  The 
Hebrew  word  for  covenant  is  Beriyth,  which  in  Judges 
8  :33  and  9  14  is  used  as  a  proper  name,  and,  for  that 
reason,  it  is  simply  transferred  into  the  English  text 


Israel  in  the  Isles 


275 


without  being  translated.  It  is  given  there  as  the  name 
of  one  of  the  idols  of  Israel,  namely :  Baal-beriyth,  and 
means  Baal  of  (the)  covenant.  Also  the  Hebrew  words 
Ben-iysh  Yemiyniy  are  translated  “Son  of  a  man  of 
Jemini.  Thus  Ben  means  “a  son” ;  Iysh,  “a  man,”  and 
Yemiyniy,  Jemini.  The  anglicized  form  of  these  words 
are  Ben,  ish  and  jamin,  and,  taken  together,  they  mean 
“A  man  of  Benjamin,  or  a  Benjaminite.” 

We  have  brought  you  through  this  group  of  words 
to  show  that  ish  in  Hebrew  means  a  man.  Now  take 
the  Hebrew  word  which  is  translated  covenant,  which 
in  its  original  form  has  no  vowel,  but  which  in  its 
Anglicized  form  retains  the  vowel  i  to  preserve  the  y 
sound,  and  we  have  Brith,  which  joined  with  ish  is 
Brith-ish,  and  means  “A  covenant  man.”  Today  the 
British  people,  or  men  of  the  covenant,  are  called 
Britons,  and  are  dwelling  in  the  British  Isles ! ! ! 

We  are  told  that  the  people  of  Wa els  call  themselves, 
in  ancient  Welsh,  “Bryth  y  Brithan,”  or  Briths  of 
Briton,”  which  means  “The  Covenanters”  of  “the  land 
of  the  Covenant.”  The  first  form  of  this  phrase  is 
almost  vernacular  Hebrew. 

It  is  also  unmistakably  recorded  in  British  history 
that  the  earliest  settlers  in  Wales  and  southern  England 
were  called  Simonii,  They  came  by  the  way  of  the  sea 
in  the  year  720  B.  C.  At  this  time  there  was  the  great¬ 
est  influx  of  the  Tuatha  de  Daanan  to  Ireland,  and  this 
synchronizes  with  the  deportation  of  the  Israelites  of 
the  commonwealth  of  Ephraim  to  Assyria,  and  the 
flight  of  Dan  and  Simeon  from  the  seaports  and  coast 
country  of  Palestine.  That  Simonii  is  the  plural  of 
Simeon  we  need  scarcely  mention. 


276  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

But  all  evidences  of  the  fulfillment  of  this  prophecy 
are  not  philological,  for  Isaiah,  still  addressing  the 
Israelites  who  dwell  in  the  islands,  predicts  the  follow¬ 
ing:  “For  thy  waste  and  desolate  places,  and  the  land 
of  thy  destruction  (the  destruction  of  their  identity), 
shall  even  now  be  too  narrow  (pressed,  straightened) 
by  reason  of  the  inhabitants,  and  they  that  swallowed 
thee  up  (the  Assyrians)  shall  be  far  away. 

The  children  which  thou  shalt  have,  after  thou  hast 
lost  the  other,  shall  say  again  in  thine  ears :  The  place 
is  too  straight  (small,  crowded,  cramped)  for  me;  give 
a  place  to  me  that  I  may  dwell."  (Isa.  49:19-20.) 

Here  are  a  people  called  Israel  who  are  living  in  the 
isles  of  the  sea.  They  have  lost  one  company  of  people, 
and  yet  their  children  say  that  the  place  is  still  too 
small,  cramped  and  crowded,  because  there  are  too 
many  inhabitants  for  such  a  small  country.  Conse¬ 
quently  they  ask  the  Mother  Country  to  give  them  a 
place  also.  Or,  according  to  Leeser’s  translation,  they 
say,  “Make  room  for  me  to  dwell,"  and  the  Mother 
Country  must  do  it,  because  it  is  she  to  whom  the  Lord 
has  given  the  desolate  heritages  of  the  earth. 

Mark  this !  It  is  also  said  of  the  mother  country,  or 
Mother  Israel,  that  she  “lost”  her  first  children  before 
other  of  her  children  asked  for  territory  in  which  to 
dwell. 

England  is  the  only  country  on  the  face  of  the  earth 
where  these  conditions  obtain.  Her  first  child  was 
called  New  England,  but  she  lost  it,  and  now  it — 
together  with  that  which,  for  various  reasons,  has  been 
annexed — is  called  The  United  States  of  America. 

But,  after  losing  her  American  colonies,  her  work  of 


Israel  in  the  Isles 


277 


colonizing  non-populated  portions  of  the  world  kept 
right  on ;  until  today  through  the  power  of  these  colo¬ 
nies  she  holds  possession  of  Prince  Edward’s  Island, 
New  Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia,  British  Columbia,  Van¬ 
couver’s  Island,  New  Foundland  and  Canada.  All  of 
these  are  unitedly  called  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and 
to  these  are  added  the  six  States  of  Australia,  New 
Zealand,  Tasmania,  British  India,  the  Fiji  Islands  and 
parts  of  Africa,  Egypt  and  China.  So  that  now  the  sun 
never  sets  on  the  realm  of  the  United  Kingdom. 

But  we  should  expect  this,  and  even  more,  for  ac¬ 
cording  to  Jer.  31:910,  the  Israel  which  is  located  in 
the  Isles  is  none  other  than  Ephraim,  the  Abrahamic 
Birthright  People,  of  whom  the  Lord  says:  “I  am  a 
father  to  Israel,  and  Ephraim  is  my  first  born.” 

Ephraim,  as  we  have  shown,  was  the  second  son  of 
Joseph.  But  when  the  birthright  blessing  was  given 
to  Joseph  in  his  sons,  Ephraim,  the  younger,  was  set  be¬ 
fore  Manasseh,  the  elder.  They  were  to  remain 
together,  however,  until  they  grew  into  a  multitude  in 
the  midst  of  the  earth.  After  that  they  were  to  sep¬ 
arate  ;  then  Manasseh  was  to  become  a  “great”  people, 
or  nation,  and  Ephraim  was  to  become  “a  multitude,  or 
company  of  nations.” 

The  people  in  the  British  Isles  did  certainly  grow 
together  until  they  became  a  multitude  of  people  in  the 
earth,  and  then  they  separated.  The  separated  people 
has  become  a  great  nation,  and  those  who  were  left 
in  the  isles  have  become  a  multitude  of  nations.  The 
government  of  the  separated  people  is  democratic,  the 
people  in  the  isles  still  live,  as  they  ever  must,  under 
a  monarchy,  but  the  two  peoples  are,  as  Joseph’s  two 


278  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

sons  were,  brothers;  and  they  even  call  each  other 
“Brother  John ”  and  “Brother  Jonathan”  There  are 
no  other  nations  on  earth  who  thus  brother  each  other. 

The  facts  recorded  above  are  also  in  fulfillment  of 
another  prophecy  given  by  dying  Jacob  concerning 
Joseph,  which  reads  as  follows:  “Joseph  a  fruitful 
bough,  even  a  fruitful  bough  by  a  well  (water),  whose 
branches  run  over  the  wall.”  (Gen.  49  :22.) 

An  objector  has  said:  “But  I  believe  the  words  'a 
multitude  of  nations’  means  a  multitude  of  different 
nationalities.”  If  this  be  the  true  meaning  of  these 
words,  then  surely  England,  with  her  sixteen  nations 
in  British  India,  her  Indians  and  Esquimaux  of  British 
America,  her  Fiji  Islanders  and  New  Zealanders,  and 
her  subjects  of  still  other  nationalities,  which  are  abso¬ 
lutely  too  numerous  to  mention — surely  England  is  a 
multiplicity  of  nationalities.  Still  we  do  not  believe 
this  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  words  under  discussion, 
but  we  do  believe  that  this  fact  of  England’s  thus  ruling 
so  many  nationalities,  and  of  America’s  holding  do¬ 
minion  over  the  Sandwich  Isles,  Cuba,  Haiti,  Porto 
Rico  and  the  Philippines  is  the  fulfillment  of  a  promise 
that  Israel  shall  inherit  the  lands  and  labor  of  the 
heathen,  which  is  given  as  follows : 

“He  brought  forth  his  people  with  joy,  and  his 
chosen  with  gladness :  and  gave  them  the  lands  of  the 
heathen ;  and  they  inherited  the  labour  of  the  people ; 
that  they  might  observe  his  statutes,  and  keep  his  laws. 
Praise  ye  the  Lord.”  (Psa.  105:43-45.)  The  Bible 
follows  Anglo-Saxon  conquests,  and  some  of  the  people 
in  all  these  nations  both  receive  and  keep  the  law  of 
God. 


Israel  in  the  Isles 


279 


We  must  remember  that  Ephraim  and  Manasseh, 
as  the  representatives  of  the  house  of  Joseph,  both 
together  received  the  birthright  blessing  under  the 
hands  of  the  dying  patriarch,  and  that  since  they  thus 
jointly  hold  the  birthright  blessing,  even  though  Eph¬ 
raim  was  set  before  Manasseh,  we  may  expect  that  they 
shall  hold  many  of  its  blessings  in  common.  Take,  for 
instance,  the  blessing  pronounced  upon  the  land  of 
Joseph,  as  given  by  Moses  on  the  day  of  his  death, 
which  is  only  an  enlarged  edition  of  that  which  was 
given  by  Jacob  on  the  day  of  his  death,  and  which  is 
as  follows:  “And  of  Joseph  he  said,  Blessed  of  the 
Lord  be  his  land,  for  the  precious  things  of  heaven 
(rain),  for  the  dew,  and  for  the  deep  (ocean)  that 
croucheth  beneath  (his  vessels),  and  for  the  precious 
fruits  brought  forth  by  the  sun,  and  the  precious  things 
put  forth  from  moon  to  moon,  and  through  the  chief 
(best)  things  of  the  ancient  mountains,  and  for  the 
precious  things  of  the  everlasting  hills,  and  the  pre¬ 
cious  things  of  the  earth  and  the  fullness  thereof,  and 
for  the  good  will  of  him  that  dwelt  in  the  bush :  let  this 
blessing  come  upon  the  head  of  Joseph,  and  upon  the 
top  of  the  head  of  him  that  was  separated  from  his 
brethren.  His  glory  is  like  the  firstling  (firstborn)  of 
his  bullock,  and  his  horns  are  like  the  horns  of  an  uni¬ 
corn  (the  unicorn  is  in  the  national  seal  of  England)  : 
with  them  he  (Joseph)  shall  push  the  people  together 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  and  they  are  the  ten  thousands 
of  Ephraim,  and  they  are  the  thousands  of  Manasseh.” 
(Deut.  33:13-17.) 

This  promise  of  wealth  on  land  and  sea,  of  abundant 
harvests,  of  rare  gems  and  precious  stones,  of  the 


280  Judah  s  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

richest  and  the  greatest  mining  interests  in  the  world, 
is  fulfilled  in  England  and  America.  It  is  also  true 
that  these  nations,  not  only  push  the  aborgines  of  their 
possessions  into  the  ends,  or  corners,  of  their  coun¬ 
tries,  but  they  also  push  the  people  of  other  nations 
with  whom  they  war  into  corners.  Concerning  Amer¬ 
ica  and  her  aborigines,  we  need  only  say,  “Lo,  the 
poor  Indian,”  and  ask,  Where  is  he?  And  then  ask 
the  same  question  concerning  the  aborigines  of  the 
countries  which  fall  into  the  hands  of  England.  Just 
here  the  alien  testimony  of  the  Russian  Vernadsky  is 
pertinent.  He  says,  ‘‘Britain  is  a  spider  whose  web  en¬ 
compasses  the  whole  world  within  her  own  domin¬ 
ions.  She  has  all  the  resources  of  all  the  continents. 
Her  empire  is  stronger  and  vaster  than  any  coalition 
of  other  states.  She  is  a  standing  menace  to  all  other 
powers,  and  her  increasing  strength  is  destructive  to 
the  balance  of  power.  Nevertheless,  unsatisfied  and 
insatiable,  she  is  grasping  for  more  territory.  Yester¬ 
day  she  seized  Fiji;  the  day  before  she  took  the  Dia¬ 
mond  fields;  today  she  annexed  Transvaal,  and  to¬ 
morrow  she  will  clutch  Egypt.  It  is  only  too  clear 
that  the  power  of  Britain  is  too  great  to  be  compatible 
with  the  general  safety,  and  that  the  aggressive  empire, 
unless  speedily  checked,  will  establish  a  universal  do¬ 
minion  over  all  the  people  of  the  earth.” 

Our  reply  to  this  expressed  fear  concerning  Brit¬ 
ain’s  “universal  dominion,”  is  that  England  alone  will 
not  gain  this,  but  that  England  and  America  will  yet 
form  an  alliance  and  that  then  they  shall  push  the 
people  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  for  it  is  foretold  that 
they,  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  “together”  shall  do 


Israel  in  the  Isles 


281 


this,  and  also  that,  “Israel  shall  blossom  and  bud,  and 
fill  the  face  of  the  whole  world  with  fruit  ”  (Isa.  27 :6.) 

The  fulfillment  of  these  promised  blessing’s,  which 
were  pronounced  upon  the  land  of  Joseph,  by  the 
people  in  the  isles  and  their  “separated”  brother,  is  the 
cause  of  the  fulfillment  of  another  prophecy  given  by 
Isaiah  concerning  this  same  people,  which  is  as  fol¬ 
lows.  Be  still,  ye  inhabitants  of  the  isle;  thou  whom* 
the  merchants  of  Zidon  (Palestinean  seaport),  that 
pass  over  the  sea  have  replenished.  And  by  great 
waters  (same  place  as  in  Ezekiel's  riddle)  the  seed  of 
Sihor,  the  harvest  of  the  river  is  her  revenue ;  and 
she  is  the  mart  of  nations” 

The  Sihor  is  a  river  in  Egypt.  Israel  dwelt  in 
Egypt  for  four  hundred  and  thirty  years,  hence  they 
were  formerly  from  Egypt,  latterly  from  Palestine, 
now  in  the  isles  of  the  Great  Waters !! !  Moreover, 
the  birthright  holders  were  born  Egyptians.  Thus 
the  Lord  says,  “When  Israel  was  a  child,  then  I  loved 
him  and  called  my  son  out  of  Egypt.”  It  is  for  these 
reasons  that,  in  the  Bible,  the  Ephraim  Israelites  are 
in  two  places  called  Egyptians. 

This  fact  of  calling  Israel  out  of  Egypt  is  doubly 
true  in  the  case  of  Israel;  first  in,  the  fact  that  when 
Israel  was  a  child  (a  young  nation),  the  Lord  called 
her  out  of  Egypt;  second  in  the  fact  that  the  Lord's 
son,  Ephraim  his  first  born  was  called  out  of  Egypt. 
This  was  also  true  again,  after  the  flight  of  Joseph  and 
Mary  into  Egypt  with  the  babe  under  the  protection  of 
an  angel,  for  it  is  again  written,  “Out  of  Egypt  have 
I  called  my  son.” 


282  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

But  there  is  another  prophecy  in  Isaiah  which  has 
been  most  wonderfully  fulfilled  in  the  history  of 
Ephraim  and  his  brother  Manasseh,  i.  e.,  England  and 
America,  the  long  lost  house  of  Joseph.  It  is  the 
following:  “The  Lord  sent  a  word  into  Jacob,  and 
it  hath  lighted  upon  Israel.  And  all  the  people  shall 
know,  even  Ephraim,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Samaria.,, 
(Isa.  9:8-9.) 

Here  we  have  the  names  of  Samaria-Ephraim-Israel, 
the  birthright  kingdom,  used  prophetically.  In  con¬ 
nection  with  these  names  is  the  fact  that  the  Lord  sent 
a  word  to  Jacob,  and  that  it  lighted  not  upon  Judah, 
but  upon  Israel,  and  that  all  the  people  of  Ephraim 
“shall  know”  this. 

Hear  this ! 

“Ye  chosen  seed  of  Israel’s  race — 

Ye  ransomed  from  the  fall!” 

Again  we  say,  hear  this !  “In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was 
God.  The  same  was  in  the  beginning  with  God.  All 
things  were  made  by  him ;  and  without  him  was  not 
anything  made  that  was  made.  In  him  was  life;  and  the 
life  was  the  light  of  men.  And  the  Word  was  made 

flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us - full  of  grace  and  truth . 

He  came  to  his  own  (Judah)  and  his  own  (the  Jews) 
received  him  not.”  So  he  said  to  his  disciples,  “Go  to 
the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel.”  Christ,  the 
Divine  Word  was  “sent”  “into  Jacob,”  bringing  life, 
light,  grace,  and  truth,  but  Judah  rejected  the  word  sent 
from  God ,  so  it  lighted  upon  Israel.  Thus,  the  Apostle 
Paul,  who  was  brought  up  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  and 


Israel  in  the  Isles 


283 

who  was  raised  a  Pharisee  of  the  strictest  sort,  under¬ 
stood  himself  perfectly,  when  he  said,  “Israel  (as  a 
whole)  hath  not  obtained  that  which  he  seeketh  for; 
but  the  election  (Ephraim-Israel)  hath  obtained  it, 
and  the  rest  (Jewish-Israel)  were  blinded.”  Who, 
as  concerning  the  gospel  are  enemies ;  but  as  touch- 
the  election  (racial)  are  beloved  for  the  fathers* 
sakes.  Hence,  blindness  in  part  (or  blindness  to  a 
part)  is  happened  to  Israel,  until  the  fullness  of  the 
Gentiles  be  come  in.” 

But  of  that  part  of  the  elect  race  which  is  appointed 
to  be  the  recipients  of  the  Word  which  God  sent. 
Paul  says.  There  is  a  remnant  according  to  the  elec¬ 
tion  of  grace,  ’  and  it  is  the  people  who  belong  to  the 
election  of  grace,  that  follow  the  colonies  of  that  elect 
race,  and  plant  the  standard  of  the  gospel  of  the  grace 
of  the  Son  of  God  among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
Thus  the  Messianic  promise,  which  the  Lord  made  to 
Abraham,  that  in  his  seed  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
should  be  blessed,  has  received  a  double  fulfillment,  In 
that  those  who  carry  the  message  of  the  One  Seed,  are 
also  the  seed  of  Abraham.  This  is  true  either  nation¬ 
ally  or  spiritually,  for  all  who  have  been  baptized  into 
Christ  have  put  on  Christ,  are  Abraham’s  seed  and 
heirs  according  to  the  promise.  And  it  is  also  true 

that  the  Anglo-Saxons  are  pre-eminently  the  evangel¬ 
ists  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  FEW  MORE  IDENTITIES. 

In  Ezekiel’s  riddle  concerning  the  kingdom  of  Israel 
which  is  in  the  northwest  isles  of  the  sea,  that  fruitful 
land  by  the  great  waters  to  which  those  two  ships  of 
Dan  carried  their  royal  passengers,  we  are  told  that 
the  kingdom  became  a  green  tree  after  the  royal  pair 
were  united  and  placed  on  the  throne  in  the  height  of 
Israel,  and  that  it  became  a  goodly  cedar.  Of  that 
tree  it  is  said,  “Under  it  shall  dwell  all  fowl  of  every 
wing;  in  the  shadow  of  the  branches  thereof  shall 
they  dwell. ” 

All  understand,  of  course,  that  the  prophecies  of 
this  riddle  are  given  in  veiled  language,  mostly  meta¬ 
phor,  but  we  know  of  no  prophecies  in  all  the  word 
of  God  that  have  been  any  more  perfectly  fulfilled  than 
those  of  this  riddle,  and  we  affirm  that  there  can  be 
found  no  race  on  the  face  of  the  earth  in  which  the 
conditions,  as  given  in  the  above,  are  so  completely 
fulfilled  as  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  race;  first  in  England 
and  her  colonies,  and  then  in  America. 

“Fowl  of  every  win g,”  i.  e.,  people  of  every  nation, 
all  dwelling  under  the  royal  cedar,  whose  scions  came 
from  Lebanon  (Palestine  territory),  or  under  the  ex¬ 
tended  shadow  of  its  branches ;  that  is,  directly  under 
the  central  power,  or  under  the  dominion  of  one  of 
its  protectorates,  or  else  under  the  protection  of  the 

284 


* 


A  Few  More  Identities  285 

separated  brother  of  the  house  of  Joseph,  i.  e.,  Manas- 
seh,  the  brother  of  Ephraim,  or  America,  England’s 
brother  nation. 

The  fact  that  these  two  nations  have  with  them  in 
their  home  country  so  many  people  of  other  nation¬ 
alities  has  been  used  as  an  argument  to  prove  that 
it  is  not  possible  for  the  Anglo-Saxons  to  be  the  lost 
house  of  Israel ;  but  the  very  fact  that  this  is  so,  and 
that  men  of  other  nations  can  come  among  us,  take 
out  their  naturalization  papers,  become  citizens,  and 
have  equal  rights  with  those  who  are  home-born,  has 
on  its  very  face  the  proof  that  we  are  Israel.  For  the 
Lord  gave  commandment  unto  Israel  saying,  “When 
a  stranger  shall  sojourn  with  thee  he  shall  he  as  one 
that  is  born  in  the  land .  One  law  shall  be  to  him 
that  is  home-born,  and  unto  the  stranger  that  sojourn- 
eth  among  you.”  (Ex.  13:48-49.) 

The  political  conditions  mentioned  above  do  obtain 
in  Anglo-Saxon  countries,  and  in  no  other  countries 
of  the  world. 

The  reason  given  for  the  establishment  of  the  law 
that  permitted  stranger  to  become  as  home-born  citi¬ 
zen  in  Israel,  is,  that  they  were  strangers  in  the  land 
Egypt ;  as  before  them  Abraham  their  father  was 
a  stranger  in  the  land  of  promise.  The  fact  that  this 
law  prevailed  in  Israel,  and  that  it  is  the  law  in  all 
Anglo-Saxon  commonwealths,  shows  that  they  are 
one  and  the  same  people,  and  accounts  for  the  follow¬ 
ing  state  of  affairs  in  Ephraim,  which  we  must  remem¬ 
ber  is  the  representative  name  of  the  house  of  Joseph : 


286  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

“Ephraim,  he  hath  mixed  himself  among  the  people; 
Strangers  (foreigners)  have  devoured  his  strength, 
and  he  knoweth  it  not.”  (Hosea  7:8-9.) 

Foreign  labor,  anarchy,*  and  Romanism! 

In  both  England  and  America  many  of  these  strang¬ 
ers  are  naturalized  and  become  as  home-born,  only 
that  they  may  secure  official  authority,  power,  and 
prestige  in  their  affairs  of  state  so  as  to  help  the  non¬ 
citizen  foreign  hordes  to  devour  the  strength  of  their 
government,  and  yet,  apparently,  they  know  it  not. 

Surely,  these  identities,  as  given  above,  are  some  of 
the  “ waymarks ”  which  the  Lord  commanded  Ephraim- 
Israel  to  set  up.  (Jer.  30:20-21.)  But  there  are  yet 
others. 

We  have  certainly  made  it  clear,  that  the  Tuatha  de 
Damans  of  northern  Ireland  were  those  of  the  tribe 
of  Dan  who  belonged  to  the  s'eacoast  colony,  or  at 
least  that  part  who  abode  in  their  ships  and  thus 
escaped.  But  where  Dan  is  there  Israel  must  be 
also,  for  Dan  was  a  part  of  Israel,  and  was  to 
judge  or  Dan  his  people,  as  one  of  the  tribes  of 
Israel.  It  is  a  well  authenticated  fact  of  history  that 
the  Milesians,  or  Scots,  inhabited  the  north  of  Ireland 
as  well  as  the  tribe  of  Dan,  that  they  were  the  same 
race  of  people,  and  that  the  word  Scots  means  wan¬ 
derers.  Prof.  Totten  says:  “Scythopolis  has  been 
traced  to  Sikytopolis  (city  of  Siccuth),  a  corruption 
of  Succoth,  or  Scothotti,  the  city  of  the  Scots,  Scyths, 


*Since  these  words  were  written  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  William  McKinley,  has  fallen  a  victim  to  Anarchy. 


A  Few  More  Identities  287 

Sacs,  or  wanderers,  i.  e.,  “dwellers  in  booths.”  When 
Ephraim  was  cast  out,  Hosea  declared,  “they  shall  be 
wanderers  among  the  nations,”  and  this  is  in  harmony 
with  Amos,  who  says  that  they  should  be  sifted  through 
the  nations,  as  corn  is  sifted  through  a  sieve,  and  yet 
not  one  grain,  or  stone  (margin)  was  to  fall  to  the 
ground.  Hence,  they  were  to  wander  through  the 
nations  until  they  reached  the  isles  of  the  sea,  that 
God-appointed  place  for  his  people,  where  their  ene¬ 
mies  should  not  waste  them,  and  w.iere  they  should 
renew  their  strength. 

But  where  Israel  and  Dan  are,  there,  too,  must 
the  Canaanite  be,  and  it  is  a  well-kuown  fact  that  the 
settlers  of  southern .  Ireland  are  a  vastly  different 
people  from  those  of  northern  Ireland,  and  that  the 
difference  is  in  their  origin,  for  they  sprang  from  a 
different  race.  Moses  said  to  Israel :  “But  if  ye  will 
not  drive  out  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  before  you ; 
then  it  shall  come  to  pass  that  those  which  ye  let 
remain  of  them  shall  be  pricks  in  your  eyes  and  thorns 
in  your  sides,  and  shall  vex  you  in  the  land  wherein 
ye  dwell.”  (Num.  33:55.)  The  Lord  also  said,  “If 
ye  do  in  anywise  go  back  and  cleave  unto  the  remnant 
of  these  nations,  even  those  that  remain  among  you, 
and  shall  make  marriages  with  them,  and  go  in  unto 
them,  and  they  to  you ;  know  for  a  certainty  that  the 
Lord  your  God  will  no  more  drive  out  any  of  these 
nations  from  before  you ;  but  they  shall  be  snares  and 
traps  unto  you.”  (Josh.  3:12-13.) 

The  Philistines  most  certainly  did  become  a  snare  to 
the  tribe  of  Dan,  for  they  were  the  first  tribe  of  Israel 
to  fraternize  with  them,  and  the  first  who  joined  with 


288  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

them  in  the  worship  of  their  god  Baal.  Simeon  soon 
joined  with  them,  and  so  eventually  did  both  Israel 
and  Judah. 

The  evolution  of  the  name  of  this  Canaanitish  nation 
is  from  Philistine  to  Phoenician,  then  Phenesian,  then 
Venetian,  and  then  Fenian.  The  Fenians  of  Ireland 
boast  of  their  Phoenician  origin,  had  the  sixteen  letter 
alphabet,  and  many  evidences  to  justify  their  claim. 
These  people  lived  with  Dan  and  Simeon  in  Palestine, 
and  came  with  them  to  Ireland.  They  are  still  “hew¬ 
ers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water,”  and  certainly 
“thorns  in  the  sides  and  pricks  in  the  eyes”  only  of 
England  and  America.  This  is  the  vexing  “Irish 
question.”  For,  “These  are  the  nations  which  the 
Lord  left,  to  prove  Israel  by  them  ”  (Judges  3:1.) 

The  physiognomy  of  Israel  must  be  different  from 
that  of  the  Jews.  We  must  remember  that  although 
Benjamin  was  with  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  they  were 
the  children  of  Rachel,  and  that  they  differed  much 
from  the  characteristic  Jew,  both  in  looks  and  in 
speech.  The  Galileans  were  Benjaminites ;  hence  all 
the  apostles  of  Christ,  except  Judas,  were  Benjamin¬ 
ites,  for  they  were  Galileans ;  and  while  Christ  was 
in  the  Judgment  Hall,  some  of  those  who  stood  by 
said  to  Peter,  “Surely  thou  also  art  one  of  them,  for 
thy  speech  betrayeth  thee.”  Also  Esther,  that  lovely 
daughter  of  the  captive  people,  and  Mordecai,  that 
“Jew  of  the  Jews,”  could  pass  in  and  out  of  the  palace 
of  Ahasuerus,  and  not  betray  the  fact  that  they  were 
of  Abrahamic  blood,  because  they  were  Benjaminites . 
fEsther  2:5-10-20.) 


A  Few  More  Identities  289 

If  these  differences  were  noticeable  in  the  case  of 
those  tribes,  which  differences  lay  in  the  fact  that  they 
were  only  half-brothers,  how  much  more  so  would 
they  be  in  the  case  of  the  house  of  Joseph,  who  were 
still  further  removed  from  Judah,  in  that  they  were  half 
Egyptian  !  Hence,  the  Abrahamic  origin  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  has  not  been  disproved,  when  its  opponents  as¬ 
sert  that  we  do  not  possess  “crooked  noses.”  But  we 
assert  that,  if  they  had  the  same  “shew  of  countenance” 
that  is  peculiar  to  the  Jewish  people,  they  could  not  be 
the  house  of  Joseph.  But  we  Saxons  get  our  straight 
noses  from  our  royal  Egyptian  ancestor.  We  say  royal 
Egyptian  ancestor,  because  Joseph  married  Asenath, 
the  daughter  of  Poti-pherah,  Prince  of  On,  instead  of  a 
“Priest  of  On,”  as  you  may  see  by  consulting  the  orig¬ 
inal  reading  of  Genesis  41 245,  whereas  the  Saxon  has 
neither  a  decided  aquiline  nose,  or  its  pronounced  oppo¬ 
site,  the  Egyptian  acute  angle,  but  he  has  an  exquisite 
Egyptio-Jacobic  blend,  which  is  much  more  handsome. 
a  E  has  been  made  clear  to  our  readers  that  Omri,  the 
sixth  king  of  Israel,  built  the  city  of  Samaria,  the  third 
and  permanent  capital  of  Israel,  and  that  eventually 
the  entire  country,  formerly  called  “All  Israel,”  became 
known  as  Samaria,  because  that  was  the  name  of  its 
capital ,  also  that  Samaria  became  one  of  the  national 
names  of  Israel,  and  is  so  used  in  some  prophecies 
concerning  them.  Hence  Omri  is  regarded  as  the  real 
founder  of  the  kingdom  of  Samaria,  and  Samaria- 

Israel  was  often  referred  to  by  other  nations  as  the 
House  of  Omri. 

When  Shalmanesar,  the  king  of  Assyria,  who  led 
Israel  into  captivity,  made  a  record  of  that  captivity 


2 90  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

on  the  tablets  of  Assyria,  he  called  them  the  House  of 
Omri  (Beth  Khumree)  ;  also  when  Israel  was  con¬ 
federate  with  Resin,  king  of  Syria,  and  went  against 
the  Jews,  and  the  Jews  besought  Tiglath-Pilesar,  who 
was  at  that  time  king  of  Assyria,  to  become  their  con¬ 
federate,  he  also  in  his  records  referred  to  Israel  as  the 
Beth-Khumree.  In  the  annals  of  Sargon,  who  was  also 
a  king  of  Assyria  (Isa.  20:1),  successor  of  Shal- 
manesar,  and  predecessor  of  Senacharib,  Israel  is 
called  Beth  Khumree  (House  of  Omri),  and  their 
capital  city  Khumree.  On  the  Nimroud  obelisk,  “Jehu, 
the  son  of  Omri,'’  is  written  “Yahua-abil-Khumree.” 
Prof.  Rawlinson,  who  does  not  believe  this  truth  we  are 
enforcing,  says:  “Jehu  is  usually  called  in  the  Bible  the 
son  of  Nimshi — although  Jehosaphat  was  his  actual 
father  (2  Kings  9:20),  but  the  Assyrians,  taking  him 
for  the  legitimate  successor  to  the  throne,  named  as 
his  father,  or  rather  ancestor,  “Omri,”  the  founder  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Samaria — Omri’s  name  being  written 
on  the  obelisk,  as  it  is  in  the  inscriptions  of  Shal- 
manesar,  where  the  Kingdom  of  Israel  is  always  called 
the  country  of  “Beth  Omri.”  Dr.  Hincks  also  says : 
“The  title,  'Son  of  Omri,’  is  equivalent  to  that  of 
King  of  Samaria ,  the  city  which  Omri  built,  and  which 
was  known  to  the  Assyrians  as  Beth  Omri ,  or  Khumri.” 

The  tribes  of  both  Dan  and  Simeon  belonged,  of 
course,  to  the  Beth  Khumree ,  when  used  as  meaning 
the  Kingdom  of  Omri,  or  Samaria.  Simeon  seems  to 
have  clung  to  this  name  far  more  tenaciously  than  did 
Dan,  for  they  still  call  themselves  and  their  country 
Kimry.  Saville  says :  “This  name  Kymri,  or  Cymry, 
as  it  is  more  commonly  written,  is  in  reality  the  plural 


A  Few  More  Identities  291 

% 

of  Kymro,  meaning  a  Welsh-man,  and  the  country  of 
the  Kymry  is  called  by  themselves  Khymru,  which  has 
been  Latinized  into  the  well-known  name  of  Cambria. 
The  letter  v  in  the  Welsh  language  has  two  powers,  and 
both  these  powers  are  active  in  the  word  Kymry.  This 
letter  v  sounds  as  u,  except  when  it  stands  in  the  last 
syllable  of  a  word ,  and  then  it  has  the  sound  of  the 
Italian  i  or  the  English  ee!  Hence,  the  correct  pro¬ 
nunciation  of  the  country  of  Wales,  or  land  of  the 
Cymry,  in  its  ancient  tongue  would  be  as  near  as  pos¬ 
sible  to  the  names  Kumree,  Khumree,  or  Kumri.,, 

Thomas  Stephens,  in  the  preface  to  his  “Literature 
of  the  Kymry  ”  says :  “On  the  map  of  Britain,  facing 
St.  George  s  Channel,  is  a  group  of  counties  called 
Wales,  inhabited  by  a  people  distinct  from,  and  but 
very  imperfectly  understood  by,  those  who  surround 
them.  Their  neighbors  call  them  Welsh-men.  Welsh 
or  Walsch  is  not  a  proper  name,  but  a  Teutonic  term 
signifying  ‘strangers/  and  was  applied  to  all  persons 
who  were  not  of  that  family  1  but  the  proper  name  of 
these  people  is  Kymry.  They  are  the  last  remnant  of 
the  Kimmerioi  of  Homer,  and  of  the  Kimry  (Cimbri) 
of  Germany.  From  the  Cimbric  Chersonesus  (Jut¬ 
land)  a  portion  of  these  landed  on  the  shores  of 
Northumberland,  gave  their  name  to  the  county  of 
Cumberland,  and  in  process  of  time  followed  the  sea¬ 
side  to  their  present  resting-place,  where  they  still  call 
themselves  Kimry y  and  give  their  country  a  similar 
name.  Their  history,  clear,  concise  and  authentic,  as¬ 
cends  to  a  high  antiquity.  Their  language  was  embodied 
in  verse  long  before  the  languages  now  spoken  rose  into 
notice,  and  their  literature,  cultivated  and  abundant 


292  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

lays  claim  to  being  the  most  ancient  in  modern 
Europe.’’  Thus  we  find  that  the  Khumree,  Kumli, 
Kimry,  Cumbre,  Cimbri,  or  Cambrians,  as  the  name  is 
variously  called  in  different  tongues,  were  strangers 
and  wanderers  among  the  nations  until  they  settled  in 
the  isles  of  the  sea  with  the  rest  of  their  brethren,  the 
Brith-ish  or  covenant  people. 

“Herodotus,  the  'Father  of  History/  tells  us  much 
about  the  Khumbri,  a  people  who,  in  his  day,  dwelt  in 
the  Crimean  peninsula  and  thereabout.  He  particularly 
notes  that  they  had  come  into  that  territory  from  Media, 
which  he  remarks  was  not  their  original  home  or  birth¬ 
place." — Our  Race. 

We  have  thus  conclusively  followed  the  word  Khum¬ 
ree,  for  the  reason  that  the  people  who  are  known  as 
Angles,  Saxons,  Danes,  Celts  or  Kelts,  Jutes,  Scots, 
Welsh,  Scyths  (or  Scythians),  or  Normans  can  trace 
themselves  back  to  Media-Persia,  but  no  further,  and 
find  their  ancestors  in  the  Khumree,  at  the  place,  and 
at  the  very  time,  when  Israel  was  losing  her  identity 
and  was  actually  known  in  the  history  of  that  country 
as  the  Beth  Khumree. 

We  cannot  take  time  or  space  to  deal  with  the  origin 
of  all  the  above  names,  but  we  feel  that  we  must  say 
something  concerning  the  name  Saxon,  as  it  is  the 
most  general  name  of  the  race — really  the  present 
generic  name  of  the  house  of  Joseph. 

It  seems  to  be  a  well-known  Hebraism,  and  for 
some  reason  it  certainly  was  a  very  common  custom 
among  the  Israelites,  to  drop  the  first  letter  of  a  proper 
name.  Bible  examples  of  this  custom  are :  Oshea,  other¬ 
wise  Hoshea;  Hagar,  otherwise  Agar;  Jachan,  other- 


i 


A  Few  More  Identities  293 

wise  Achan ;  Heber,  otherwise  Eber,  etc.  Scholars  tell 
us,  if  we  have  caught  their  thought,  that  this  Hebrew 
idiom  is  peculiar  to  the  possessive  case,  and  also  to 
allow  the  introduction  of  an  affix. 

When  Jacob  transferred  the  birthright  to  the  sons 
of  Joseph  he,  with  one  hand  resting  on  the  head  of 
each,  prayed:  “Let  my  name  (Israel)  be  named  on 
them,  and  the  name  of  my  fathers  Abraham  and  Isaac.” 
The  birthright  kingdom  did,  as  we  have  seen,  inherit 
the  name  of  Israel,  and  also  that  of  Isaac.  For  Amos 
says :  “And  the  high  places  of  Isaac  shall  be  desolate, 
and  the  sanctuaries  of  Israel  (Bethel  and  Dan)  shall 
be  laid  waste,  and  I  will  rise  against  the  house  of  Jero¬ 
boam  with  the  sword.”  (Amos  7:9.)  Here  we  have 
Isaac,  Israel  and  the  house  of  leroboatn  used  as  in¬ 
terchangeable  names  for  the  ten-tribed  kingdom.  Ama- 
ziah  also  says  to  Jeroboam,  the  king  of  Isaac-Israel : 
The  Lord  said  unto  me.  Go,  prophesy  unto  my  people 
Israel.  Now,  therefore,  hear  thou  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  (but)  thou  sayest,  Prophesy  not  against  Israel, 

and  drop  not  thy  word  against  the  house  of  Isaac.” 
(Amos  7:16.) 

Thus  the  name  of  Isaac  was  named  upon  the  house 
of  Joseph, and  it  is  true,  both  in  race  and  name,  that,  “in 
Isaac  shall  thy  seed  be  called.”  It  seems  that  the  Jews 
had  a  preference  for  the  name  of  Jacob,  but  Israel 
clung  to  the  name  of  Isaac,  especially  after  they  were 
taken  into  captivity ;  they  dropped  the  name  of  Israel 
and  called  themselves  “Saac”— Sacae,  or  Saxae,  as  per 
Latin  derivation — which  is  nothing  more  or  less  than 

the  Hebrew  name  of  Isaac,  from  which  the  initial  letter 
I  has  been  dropped. 


294  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 


It  is  now  a  well-authenticated  fact  that  the  word 
Saxon  is  derived  from  the  Hebrew  name  of  I-saac, 
together  with  an  affix  which  means  sons  of.  Prof. 
Totten  says :  “In  most  of  the  Eastern  languages  ‘sons 
of'  is  written  ‘sunnia.’  It  is  equivalent  to  the  Scottish 
‘Mac’  and  the  English  and  Irish  ‘Fitz’ — Mac  Donald, 
son  of  Donald ;  Fitz  Henry,  son  of  Henry.  So,  in  the 
distant  home  of  our  ancestors,  Saac-Sunnia  means 
sons  of  Isaac.  Stambul  is  formed  of  Istambul  by  drop¬ 
ping  the  prefix  I,  and  so  the  Saxon  is  a  direct  descend¬ 
ant  of  our  father  Isaac.  Dr.  W.  Holt  Yates  accepts 
this  derivation  of  the  Saxon  name  as  positive,  and  the 
Rev.  W.  H.  Poole,  D.  D.,  speaks  of  it  as  follows :  “It 
is  a  little  curious  to  glean  from  the  ancient  nations  and 
from  the  stone  monuments  of  the  early  times  the  vari¬ 
ous  forms  in  which  this  word  is  to  be  found.  I  will 
here  insert  a  few  from  a  list  of  my  own  gleaned  from 
ancient  history,  thus :  Sons  of  Isaac,  Sons  of  Saac, 
Saac-Sunnia,  Saac-Suna,  Saac-Sena  Saaca-pena,  Esak- 
ska,  Sacae-Amyrqui,  Beth-Sakai  (House  of  Isaac), 
Sunnia-Sakai,  Sakai-Suna,  Saca-Suna,  Sacae-Sunnae, 
Sackisina,  Sacka-Sunia,  Saca-cine,  Saka-Suna,  Sacas- 
Sani,  Sakas-Saeni,  Saxi-Suna,  Sach-Suni,  Sachi, 
Sacha,  Sakah,  Saachus,  Saacus,  Sacho,  Saxo,  Saxoi, 
Saxonia,  Saxones,  Saxae,  Sach-sen,  Sack-sen,  Saxe- 
sen,  Saxone,  Saxony,  Saxon.” — “Our  Race.” 

Concerning  the  etymology  of  the  word  Saxon,  Yat- 
man  says :  “Its  history  is  as  follows :  The  Persians 
used  the  terms  Sacae  and  Scythian  as  convertible, 
whether  from  a  corrupt  rendering  of  one  from  the 
other  or  because  the  Sacae,  a  great  tribe  of  Scythians 
(wanderers)  bordering  upon  them,  were  so  called  by  a 


A  Few  More  Identities 


295 


tribal  name.  Of  the  fact  of  the  identity  of  the  Sacae 
and  the  Scythians  there  is  not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt, 
and  it  is  clear  that  these  people  called  their  country 
Sacasena.  It  is  equally  clear  that  the  Saxons  of 
England  were  the  Scythians  or  Celte-Scythians. 
Their  geographical  position  in  Europe  is  accurately 

described  by  Plutarch,  Tacitus,  Ptolemy,  and  other 
authors.” 

To  this  testimony  all  the  historians  agree.  Strabo 
asserts  that  the  most  ancient  Greek  historians  knew 
the  Sacaea  as  a  people  who  lived  beyond  the  Caspian 
Sea.  Diodorus  says :  “The  Sacaea  sprung  from  a 
people  in  Media  who  obtained  a  vast  and  glorious  em- 

•  55 

pire. 

Ptolemy  finds  the  Saxons  in  a  race  of  Scythians, 
called  Sakai,  who  came  from  Media. 

Pliny  says:  “The  Sakai  were  among  the  most  dis¬ 
tinguished  people  of  Scythia,  who  settled  in  Armenia, 
and  were  called  Sacae-Sani.” 

Albinus  says :  “The  Saxons  were  descended  from 
the  ancient  Sacae  of  Asia.” 

Prideaux  finds  that  the  Cimbrians  came  from  be¬ 
tween  the  Black  and  Euxine  (Caspian)  seas,  and  that 
with  them  came  the  Angli. 

Sharon  Turner,  the  great  Saxon  historian,  says: 
“The  Saxons  were  a  Scythian  nation,  and  were  called 
Saca,  Sachi,  Sacki,  Sach-sen.” 

Gawler,  in  “Our  Scythian  Ancestors”  (Page  6), 
says :  “The  word  ‘Saacae,’  is  fairly  and  without  strain¬ 
ing  or  imagination,  translatable  as  Isaacites.” 

But  why  has  it  been  necessary  for  the  historians  of 
these  various  nations  thus  to  trace  this  name,  search 


296  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

records,  tablets  and  monuments,  and  hunt  for  the 
origin  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  ?  Are  they  an  obscure 
people  ?  Are  they  a  feeble  nation  ?  Are  they  an  ignor¬ 
ant  folk?  Are  they  an  uncivilized  race?  No;  they  are 
diametrically  opposite  to  all  this.  They  are  in  every 
way  the  greatest  race  on  earth,  but  they  do  not  know 
where  they  originated,  nor  who  were  their  ancestors — 
they  are  lost. 

Some  of  these  historians  whom  we  have  quoted  do 
not  agree  among  themselves  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
Saxons,  but  belong  to  different  schools  of  contention, 
and  are  wrangling  over  the  question  whether  these 
lost  people  belong  to  the  Aryan,  or  to  the  Semitic 
race.  The  only  use  which  we  have,  just  here,  for 
their  contention  is  to  show  that  they  all  trace  the  Sax¬ 
ons  to  the  very  place  where  the  captive  ten  tribes  of 
Israel  were  deported  by  Shalmanesar,  the  King  of 
Assyria.  These  same  historians  also  show  that  the 
Sax-ons  sprang  into  existence,  in  so  far  as  their 
modern  and  mediaeval  history  is  concerned,  about  three 
years  after  the  Israelites  were  taken  to  that  country, 
and  that  there  they  lose  them  and  can  trace  them  no 
further. 

Since  both  the  Saxons  and  Samaritan-Israelites  are 
lost,  and  since  those  Israelites  are  the  sons  of  Isaac, 
and  were  so  called  in  sacred  history,  and  since  both 
people  bear  the  name  of  their  father  I-saac,  we  have 
no  hesitancy  in  saying  that  they  are  one  and  the 
same,  and  that  the  lost  are  found.'  And  since  these 
people  have  been  told  that  they  were  not  the  chosen 
people  of  God,  we,  together  with  many  others,  now 


A  Few  More  Identities 


297 


declare  unto  them  that  they  are  the  natural  children 
of  Abraham,  the  national  sons  of  God. 

It  is  a  most  significant  fact,  that  Lia-F-ail,  the  name 
of  the  Bethel  stone,  is  the  same,  whether  read  from 
right  to  left,  as  the  Hebrews  do,  or  whether  it  is  read 
from  left  to  right,  as  the  baxons  do.  Also,  the  word 
has  just  seven  letters  (the  perfect  number),  and  if 
we  start  with  the  fourth  (the  human  number),  or 
central  letter,  and  read  from  that,  either  to  the  right  or 
to  the  left,  we  have  in  both  instances  the  same  word, 
i.  e.,  f-a-i-1,  in  which  if  we  use  ph  for  the  f  sound,  we 
have  that  Hebrew  word  wonderful,  which  is  one  of 
the  names  of  the  Messiah.  Or  if  we  start  either  with 
the  right  or  left,  read  to  the  central  letter  and  then 
back  again  to  the  place  from  which  we  started  (1-i-a- 
f-a-i-1),  then  we  have  the  full  name  of  Liafail. 

In  a  former  chapter,  when  quoting  from  Irish 
chronicles  concerning  Liafail,  we  showed  that  one 
form  of  the  word,  or  one  of  its  names,  was  written 
Leagael.  This  word  has  the  same  peculiarities  as  that 
of  Liafail  in  that  it  also  has  seven  letters,  and  that 
when  it  is  read  either  from  left  to  right  or  from  right 
to  left,  it  is  the  same  word,  or  by  beginning  either  to 
the  right  or  left  and  reading  to  the  central  letter,  and 
back  again,  we  still  have  Leagael,  and  by  beginning 
with  the  fourth,  or  central  letter,  and  reading  either 
from  left  to  right  as  the  Saxons  do,  or  from  right  to 
left,  as  the  Hebrews  do,  we  have  in  each  case  the 
same  word,  i.  e.,  gael. 

This  word  gael  is  a  Hebrew  word,  and  yet  it  is 
absolutely  one  of  the  most  important  words  in  all  the 
history  of  the  Saxon  people ;  for  it  is  the  name  of  that 


298  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

tongue,  speech,  or  dialect,  which  is  the  very  root  of  the 
“King’s  English/'  as  that  language  is  sometimes  called, 
which  is  now  known  as  the  mother  tongue  of  the  Sax¬ 
ons,  but  which  evidently  is  not  the  original  language  of 
that  race,  for  it  is  only  several  hundred  years  old, 
and  these  historians  from  whom  we  have  quoted  trace 
them  back  along  the  line  of  history  for  two  thousand 
five  hundred  and  twenty  years. 

The  fact  of  this  change  in  the  language  of  the  Sax¬ 
ons,  as  the  years  have  been  rolling  by,  dovetails  into 
the  history  of  Ephraim-Israel  as  foretold  by  the 
prophet  Isaiah,  who  in  the  first  verse  of  the  twenty- 
eighth  chapter  says:  “Woe  to  the  crown  of  pride,  to 
the  drunkards  of  Ephraim."  Remember  we  are  not 
dealing  with  a  race  of  saints,  but  with  a  people  who 
have  largely  gone  away  from  their  God,  although  to 
begin  with,  they  were  a  people  who  were  “wholly  a 
right  seed  ”  Nationally  speaking,  while  other  nations 
are  opium  eaters,  and  have  other  vices  which  cling  to 
them  as  a  people,  the  Saxons  are  the  drunkard  nation 
of  the  earth.  Great  Britain,  in  drunkenness,  is  worse 
than  America;  but  America  is  bad  enough  in  this 
respect  to  be  so  recognized  by  the  more  temperate 
nations  of  the  world.  But  our  chief  object  in  giving 
this  quotation  is  to  show  that  the  prophet  was  address¬ 
ing  Ephraim,  of  whom  he  further  says :  “For,  with 
stammering  lips  and  another  tongue,  will  he  (the 
Lord)  speak  to  this  people."  The  Hebrew  word, 
which  in  this  text,  is  translated  stammering  is  that 
word  Gael 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  Young  in  his  “Analyti¬ 
cal  Concordance"  gives  us  the  word  Leag,  as  the 


A  Few  More  Identities 


299 


original  Hebrew  word,  while  Strong  in  his  “Exhaust¬ 
ive  Concordance  gives  us  the  equally  correct  word 
Gael ,  from  the  same  Hebrew  word.  But  be  it  Leag 
to  the  Hebrew  or  Gael  to  the  Saxon,  it  is  the  same 
word  to  the  same  people,  which  they  have  reversed 
and  given  to  their  newer  language,  which  is  called 
the  Gael,  or  Gael-ic  tongue,  which  is  not  only  the  foun¬ 
dation  of  the  English  language,  but  is  yet  spoken  in 
its  primitive  simplicity  in  many  places  in  Wales,  Scot¬ 
land  and  the  north  of  Ireland. 

Wa-els  is  only  another  form  of  Gaels,  and  the  people 
whose  language  was  called  Gael  were  themselves  often 
called  Gaels.  At  first  when  a  person  needed  to  speak 
of  but  one  of  these  people,  the  custom  was  to  say: 
“One  Gael,”  but  as  the  language  changed,  the  form  of 
one  changed  to  an  before  a  vowel  sound,  and  to  a 
before  a  consonant  sound.  Thus  one  Gael  became 
Angael.  And  since  the  Hebrew  word  ish  means  man, 
we  can  understand  how  things  would  get  a  little  mixed, 
and  how  very  easy  would  be  the  evolution  from  An- 
GA-EL-ISH-MAN  to 

An  Englishman. 

Also,  since  these  same  people  were  called  Angli, 
and  Sax-es,  the  combination  and  evolution  of  these 
names  into  Anglo-Saxon  would  be  inevitable. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


A  STUDY  IN  "SCARLET.” 

In  giving  further  proof  concerning  that  prince  of 
the  scarlet  thread,  whom  historians  tell  us  was  married 
to  Tea  Tephi,  the  Eastern  princess,  we  know  of  noth¬ 
ing  that  will  be  so  helpful,  satisfactory  and  convincing 
as  to  give  his  genealogy;  beginning  with  his  fathers, 
Juda  and  Zarah,  and  come  down  from  father  to  son 
until  we  reach  him.  We  are  able  to  do  this,  but  only 
because  Prof.  Totten  has  faithfully  scanned  the  pages 
of  ancient  and  modern  history,  and  as  a  result  has  com¬ 
piled  and  given  to  the  world  the  genealogy  of  the  Zarah 
branch  of  the  royal  family,  which  was  exalted  to  the 
throne  when  the  breach  was  made  in  the  line  of  Pharez 
in  the  days  of  Zedekiah. 

Culling  from  a  genealogical  diagram  found  in  No.  5 
of  "Our  Race”  we  have  the  following:  Judah,  begat 
Zarah ;  Zarah,  begat  Ethan ;  Ethan,  begat  Mahol ;  Ma- 
hol,  begat  Oalcol ;  Calcol,  begat  Gadhol ;  Gadhol,  begat 
Easru;  Easru,  begat  Sru ;  Sru,  begat  Heber  Scot ; 
Heber  Scot,  begat  Boamhain ;  Boamhain,  begat 
Ayhaimhain;  Ayhaimhain,  begat  Tait;  Tait,  begat 
Aghenoin;  Aghenoin,  begat  Feabla  Glas;  Feabla  Glas, 
begat  Neanuail;  Neanuail,  begat  Nuaghadh;  Nua- 
ghadh,  begat  Alloid ;  Alloid,  begat  Earchada,  Earchada, 
begat  Deagfatha;  Deagfatha,  begat  Bratha;  Bratha, 
begat  Broegan;  Broegan,  begat  Bille;  Bille,  begat  Gal- 


3oi 


A  Study  in  Scarlet 

lam  (or  William,  the  conqueror  of  Ireland) ;  Gallam, 
begat  Herremon,  (who married  Tea  Tephi,  and  Heber 
and  Amhergin  his  two  brothers. 

Of  course,  it  is  impossible  to  give  Prof.  Totten’s 
argument  by  which  this  genealogy  can  be  verified,  but 
we  can  call  attention  to  a  few  straws ,  which,  you  know, 
show  which  way  the  wind  blows. 

First,  you  will  notice  that  we  have  italicized  some 
of  these  names,  two  of  which  are  Heber,  and  one  Tait. 
In  giving  this  genealogy  we  have  given  the  direct  line 
from  father  through  only  one  son,  but  some  of  these 
men  were  the  fathers  of  more  than  one  son.  Sru,  for 
instance,  the  father  of  Heber  Scot,  had  two  other  sons. 
Tait,  who  begat  Aghenoin,  had  a  son  by  the  name  of 
Heber.  The  fact  that  there  are  three  Hebers  in  this 
branch  of  the  royal  family  is  most  significant,  for  that 
is  the  name  from  which  comes  one  of  the  national 
names  of  their  race,  i.  e.,  Hebrews. 

Also,  we  have  told  our  readers  of  the  confusion 
which  most  students  of  history  find  in  trying  to 
straighten  out  the  history  of  Ireland,  but  it  is  generally 
conceded  that  there  are  two  distinct  phases  to  the  He¬ 
brew  story  of  Ireland.  The  one  is  that  concerning 
Jeremiah  and  the  king’s  daughters,  and  the  other  is 
that  which  is  told  in  the  Milesian  records,  in  which  we 
have  the  story  of  the  prince  who  married  one  of  Jere¬ 
miah’s  wards.  The  Milesian  story  takes  its  rise  in 
Egypt  and  Palestine  amid  the  scenes  of  Israel’s  in¬ 
fancy.  Now  we  are  ready  to  call  your  attention  to  two 
other  names  in  the  genealogy  of  Zarah’s  royal  house, 
which  we  have  italicized,  i.  e.,  Easru  and  Sru,  for  in 
the  Milesian  records  the  descendants  of  these  men,  and 


302  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

some  of  their  predecssors,  were  called  by  a  name  which 
to  this  day  means  the  children  of  the  Red  (or  scarlet ) 
Branch. 

The  prince  in  the  Bible  story,  as  given  in  Ezekiel’s 
riddle,  is  called  a  young  twig,  and  the  highest  branch 
of  the  high  cedar,  and,  after  Zedekiah’s  sons  were  slain, 
it  was  not  possible  to  find  a  prince  who  was  eligible  to 
sit  on  that  throne  unless  he  belonged  to  the  line  of  the 
scarlet  thread,  for  the  other  line,  from  which  Christ 
came,  was  with  the  Jews  in  Babylon.  Hence  these 
children  of  the  “Red  Branch”  must  have  belonged  to 
the  Scarlet-thread  branch  of  the  royal  family.  The 
Milesian  records  also  call  them  “Curaithe  na  Cruabh 
ruadh,”  the  “Knights  of  the  Red  Branch.” 

“The  term  Milesian  is  derived  from  the  mediaeval 
title  of  Gallam,  the  conqueror  of  Ireland,  who  was 
called  Milesius,  or  the  Milesian,  i.  e.,  the  soldier,  a  term 
derived  from  the  Latin  miles,  whence  we  derive  our 
word  militia.” — Totten. 

“Furthermore,  these  knights  of  the  Red  Branch,  of 
whom  Gallam,  the  conquering  Milesian,  was  one,  called 
themselves  Craunnogs,  or  ‘the  crowned.’  The  true 
meaning  of  their  name  is  ‘Tree  tops,’  for  it  comes  from 
words  common  to  all  dialects:  crann  ‘a  tree,’  and  og 
‘a  tuft’  or  ‘termination.’  We  use  the  same  word  for  a 
‘crown,’  as  they  did,  and  the  very  use  of  it  in  common 
language  would  be  enough  to  verify  this  identity  of 
race  were  there  not  other  reasons  in  their  history  and 
legends  to  establish  it  conclusively.” — Totten. 

One  hundred  years  ago  Joseph  Ben  Jacob,  a  Celt, 
and  a  Catholic,  in  a  work  called  “Precursory  Proofs,” 
said :  “Among  the  five  equestrian  orders  of  ancient  Ire- 


A  Study  in  Scarlet  303 

land  was  one  called  Crctobh-ruadh  (the  Red  Branch). 
The  origin  of  this  order  was  so  very  ancient  that  all 
attempts  at  explanation  have  hitherto  failed.  Some 
suppose  that  it  originated  from  the  Ulster  arms,  which 
are  ‘luna,  a  hand  sinister,  couped  at  the  wrist,  Mars.’ 
But  these  admit  it  should  in  such  case  be  called  crobh- 
ruadh,  or  of  the  bloody  hand.” 

This  man  was  really  proving  the  Hebrew  and  Egyp¬ 
tian  origin  of  the  Irish  Celts,  but  was  applying  all  the 
evidence  that  he  found  to  Joseph,  knowing  nothing  of 
the  story  of  the  breach  in  the  royal  family  of  Judah, 
and  of  the  exaltation  of  the  Scarlet  Branch,  who  landed 
in  the  plantation  of  Ulster.  Else  he  would  have  known 
where  to  place  the  meaning  of  that  ensignum  of  the  red, 
or  bloody,  hand  “couped  at  the  wrist”  with  a  scarlet 

thread  which  found  its  way  into  the  royal  arms  of 
Ulster. 

The  prophet  Nahum,  while  speaking  of  “the  excel¬ 
lency  of  Israel,  says :  “The  shield  of  his  mighty 
men  is  made  red,  the  valiant  men  are  in  scarlet.”  Scar¬ 
let  is  the  characteristic  color  of  the  English  army,  and 
they  certainly  wore  “red  coats”  during  the  Revolu¬ 
tionary  War.  We  were  recently  in  an  English  city,  and 
we  took  particular  note  of  the  scarlet  thread,  or  stripe 
which  ran  up  the  front,  around  the  neck,  down  the 
arms  and  up  the  pantaloon  legs  of  the  uniform  of  the 
post  men  of  the  province. 

A  British  consul  once  told  us  that  every  official 
order  he  received  was  tied  with  a  scarlet  thread,  and 
showed  us  one  which  he  had  just  received.  This  same 
thing  is  true  also  with  all  English  officials,  to  whom 


304  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

written  orders  are  sent,  and  from  this  custom  comes 
that  well-known  political  and  diplomatical  metaphor, 
“Red-tape.” 

We  have  also  learned,  from  sources  which  we  deem 
authentic,  that  a  scarlet  thread  is  woven  into  the  ma¬ 
terial  from  which  all  ropes  are  manufactured,  which 
are  to  be  used  in  the  construction  of  vessels  for  the 
British  government,  or  navy.  This  is  done  so  that 
under  and  all  circumstances  these  vessels  may  be  identi¬ 
fied  as  the  property  of  Great  Britain,  even  though  they 
be  sunk  in  many  fathoms  of  water  at  the  bottom  of 
the  sea. 

When  Jacob  blessed  the  sons  of  Joseph,  he  was  under 
the  necessity  of  crossing  his  hands  in  order  that  he 
might  get  his  right  hand  on  the  boy  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  designating  as  the  one  whom  God  had 
chosen  as  the  birthright  inheritor ;  and  in  thus  crossing 
his  hands  Jacob  necessarily  made  this  sign  (X),  or  the 
sign  of  the  cross.  This  is  the  />r£-Christian  cross  of 
which  relics  are  found  along  the  trail  of  Israel,  as  they 
were  being  sifted  through  the  nations  to  the  isles  of 
the  Northwest,  and  which  Ignatius  Donnelly  finds  not 
only  in  Egypt  and  Ireland,  but  almost  everywhere  else. 
Donnelly's  object  in  discussing  the  pre-Christian  cross 
is  to  prove  that  the  cross  has  been  a  sacred  emblem 
ever  since  the  creation  of  man,  and  that  it  originated  in 
the  garden  of  Eden,  because  of  the  four  rivers  which 
parted  in  Eden  and  became  four  heads.  Donnelly  finds 
that  in  Egypt,  Assyria  and  the  British  Isles,  the  pre- 
Christian  cross  was  emblematical  of  creative  power 
and  eternity.  He  also  finds  carved  on  Egyptian  monu¬ 
ments  (see  cut)  a  very  ancient  sacred  emblem,  which 


A  Study  in  Scarlet 


he  says  Sir  Gardener  Wilkinson  says  was  called  “The 
cross-cake,  which  is,  as  you  see,  a  cake  with  a  cross 
on  it,  and  as  soon  as  we  read  this  in  Donnelly’s 
“Atlantis,”  instantly  we  associated  the  Egyptian  Cross¬ 
cake  with  the  following :  “Ephraim  is  a  cake  not  turn¬ 
ed.”  We  know  that  Ephraim  was  associated  with  the 
cross  that  Jacob  made,  that  he  came  from  Egypt,  and 
if  he  was  not  in  some  way  associated  with  that  cake 
with  which  are  associated  both  Egypt  and  a  cross,  why 
should  God  use  the  metaphor,  “cake,”  in  a  prophecy 
concerning  Ephraim  s  people  ?  Here  is  a  question  for 
all  grades  of  skeptics,  from  the  “Higher  Critics”  up  to 
the  honest  infidel,  to  answer.  Thank  God,  that,  when 
it  comes  to  this  question  of  critics,  there  is  a  superlative 
degree  ;  i.  e.,  Highest  Critics ! 


This  sign  (X)  has  floated  in  what  is 
known  as  the  “Union  Jack,”  from  the 
flagstaffs  of  the  United  Kingdom,  and 
from  the  mast  heads  of  English  vessels 


ciMii  non  sc**,  for  as  many  centuries  as  the  kingdom  has 

any  history.  It  is  also  in  that  which  is 
now  accepted  the  world  over  as  the  national  flag  of 
the  British  people,  which  is  described  as  a  scarlet  field 
with  the  union  on  a  field  of  blue,  to  which  are  now 
added  certain  Christian  crosses,  one  of  which  is  scarlet, 

and  across  the  others  there  is  a  narrow  strip  or  thread 
of  scarlet. 

Ephraim  as  a  cake  unturned  must  mean,  whatever 
else  it  may  mean,  that  he  has  a  hidden  or  unseen  side, 
and  that  he  is  not  altogether  the  fresh  young  nation 
that  he  seems  to  be.  This  new  side  is  the  Saxon  side, 
with  this  sign  (SaXon)  buried  in  the  very  heart  of  his 


306  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

name,  and  the  other  side  is  the  Ephraim-Israel  side, 
but  it  is  the  same  old  cake,  with  its  name  of  Saac’s  sons 
burnt  through  until  it  shows  on  this  side. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  sign  of  the  cross  became  sacred 
in  the  garden  of  Eden,  then  surely,  after  the  giving 
of  the  birthright,  it  became  doubly  so  to  the  house  of 
Joseph;  but  now  it  is  thrice  sacred  to  them,  for  on 
the  cross  their  Saviour  made  full  atonement  for  sin. 

We  believe  that  when  Jacob  said  to  Joseph :  “ I  know 
it,  my  son,  I  know  it!"  he  not  only  knew  he  had  his 
right  hand  on  Ephraim's  head,  which  Joseph  thought 
should  have  been  on  Manasseh’s,  but  that  he  also  knew 
why  he  blessed  the  sons  of  Joseph  with  the  sign  of  the 
cross  above  their  heads.  For  while  he  prayed  with  his 
hands  thus  crossed  he  said,  “God, .  .  .  the  Angel,  which 
redeemed  me  from  all  evil ,  bless  the  lads,"  and  we  know 
there  is  no  other  name  given  among  men  whereby  we 
can  be  saved,  except  the  name  of  Him  who  shed  his 
blood  upon  the  cross  to  redeem  men. 

To  us  it  is  indeed  significant  that  the  birthright 
blessing  was  given  with  the  sign  of  the  cross.  That 
the  cross  was  sacred  Jacob  certainly  knew.  That  God 
sent  his  Divine  Word  unto  Jacob,  we  Christian  Saxons 
(sons  of  I-saac)  certainly  know;  and  that  Judah  re¬ 
jected  that  Word  made  flesh,  we  also  know.  That 
Ephraim-Israel  would  receive  that  Word,  divine 
prophecy  declares ;  and  that  the  Saxons  did  receive  that 
rejected  One  and  the  word  of  his  grace,  is  simply  un¬ 
deniable.  Then,  surely,  that  triple  cross,  together  with 
one  which  has  a  thread  of  scarlet  blood  streaming 
down  its  rugged  side,  must  mean  more — yea,  much 
more — to  the  people  of  one  certain  race,  than  it  ever 


307 


A  Study  in  Scarlet 

can  to  some  other  races.  For  He  who  shed  that  blood 
said :  “I  am  not  sent  but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the 
house  of  Israel” 

Our  readers  now  know  that  the  name  “House  of 
Israel”  was  the  Biblical-historic  and  the  prophetic 
name  of  the  birthright  people,  over  and  against  the 
name  “House  of  Judah,”  for  the  Jewish  people.  So, 
if  the  people,  known  as  the  Jews,  and  they  only,  be 
national  Israel — i.  e.,  i(all  of  it,”  as  has  been  taught  by 
Christendom  for  lo !  these  many  centuries — then  the 
coming  of  Christ  to  the  seed  of  Abraham  was  a  failure 
in  every  sense.  And  if  this  be  so,  why  should  the 
angel  Gabriel  tell  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Joseph 
(Mary's  father's  name  was  Joseph,  as  well  as  her  hus¬ 
band  s),  that  her  divine  child  should  “reign  over  the 
house  of  Jacob  forever”?  Or  why  should  Mary,  after 
receiving  the  salutation  of  Elizabeth,  say :  “He  (God) 
hath  holpen  his  servant  Israel  in  remembering  his 
mercy,  as  he  spake  to  our  fathers,  to  Abraham,  and 
to  his  seed  forever?”  Or  why  should  Zacharias,  being 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  say : 

“Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel;  for  he  hath 
visited  and  redeemed  his  people,  and  hath  raised  up  an 
horn  of  salvation  for  us  in  the  house  of  his  servant 
David ;  as  he  spake  by  the  mouth  of  his  holy  prophets, 
which  have  been  since  the  world  began ;  that  we  should 
be  saved  from  our  enemies,  and  from  the  hand  of  all 
that  hate  us,  to  perform  the  mercy  promised  to  our 
fathers,  and  to  remember  his  holy  covenant;  the  oath 
which  he  sware  to  our  father  Abraham,  that  he  would 
grant  unto  us,  that  we  being  delivered  out  of  the  hand 


308  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

of  our  enemies  might  serve  him  without  fear,  in  holi¬ 
ness  and  righteousness  before  him,  all  the  days  of 
our  life'’?  (Luke  i:  69-75.) 

We  may  also  further  ask,  Why  should  Isaiah  say: 
“Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given ;  and 
the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder;  and  his 
name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counselor,  The 
Mighty  God,  The  Everlasting  Father,  The  Prince  of 
Peace.  Of  the  increase  of  his  government  and  peace 
there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the  throne  of  David,  and 
upon  his  kingdom  to  order  it,  and  establish  it  with 
judgment  and  with  justice  from  henceforth  even  for¬ 
ever.  The  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  will  perform  this. 
The  Lord  sent  a  word  unto  Jacob,  and  it  hath  lighted 
upon  Israel.  And  all  the  people  shall  know,  even 
Ephraim .” — Isa.  9:  6-9. 

Mark  that!  All  the  people  of  Israel — Ephraim- 
Israel — shall  know.  Yea,  they  do  now  know.  Whether 
they  be  in  the  “High  Church,”  or  in  the  “Low;” 
whether  they  are  Catholic  or  Protestant ;  whether  they 
attend  service  at  a  costly  cathedral,  in  some  great  pala¬ 
tial  church,  or  in  “the  little  church  around  the  cor¬ 
ner;”  whether  they  pray  in  the  uptown,  or  in  the  down¬ 
town  church ;  whether  they  listen  to  the  preached  word 
in  the  independent  mission,  or  in  that  little  mission,  the 
child  of  some  uptown  church,  which  they  are  holding 
off  at  arm's  length ;  whether  they  attend  the  revival 
services  of  the  popular  evangelist,  or  whether  they 
stand  on  the  streets  of  our  Anglo-Israel  cities,  and  hear 
all  sort  of  evangelists  from  very  good  to  very  in¬ 
ferior;  yes,  surely,  whether  they  listen  to  any,  all,  or 


A  Study  in  Scarlet  309 

none  (for  they  hear  it  as  they  go),  all  the  people  of 
Ephraim  do  know  this  one  thing,  namely:  "Unto  us 
a  child  is  born.,, 

It  is  conceded  by  all  Christendom  that  those  who 
accept  the  benefits  of  the  new  covenant,  of  which  the 
testator  must  die  before  the  testament  could  be  in  force, 
have  the  law  of  that  covenant  written  in  their  hearts. 
Indeed,  Paul  when  speaking  of  the  New  Testament 
covenant,  which  he  says  was  "established  upon  better 
promises’'  than  the  Mosaic  covenant,  the  failure  of 
which  necessitated  the  making  of  the  new,  says :  "Be¬ 
cause  they  continued  not  in  my  covenant,  and  I 
regarded  them  not,  saith  the  Lord.  For  this  is  the 
covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel 
after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord;  I  will  put  my  laws 
into  their  mind,  and  write  them  in  their  hearts ;  and  I 
will  be  to  them  a  God,  and  they  shall  be  to  me  a  peo¬ 
ple.” — Heb.  8  :io. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  journey  of  Israel  from  Lo-ammi 
(not  my  people)  to  Ammi  (my  people),  is  by  the  way 
of  the  blood-stained  cross.  But  it  is  literal,  fleshly 
Israel,  that  must  make  this  journey.  This  is  why  God, 
by  the  mouth  of  the  prophet  Isaiah,  says:  "Hearken 
unto  me,  ye  that  know  righteousness,  the  people  in 
whose  heart  is  my  law,”  "Hearken  to  me,  ye  that  follow 
after  righteousness,  ye  that  seek  the  Lord :  look  unto 
the  rock  whence  ye  are  hewn,  and  to  the  hole  of  the  pit 
whence  ye  are  digged.  Look  unto  Abraham  your 
father,  and  unto  Sarah  that  bare  you.” — Isa.  51:  7 
and  1-2. 

When  the  house  of  Judah  rejected  Jesus,  he  asked 
them  if  they  had  read  in  the  Scriptures  concerning  a 


3io  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

stone  which  was  rejected,  and  which  became  the  head 
of  the  corner;  and  then  he  told  them  that  the  king¬ 
dom  of  God  should  be  taken  from  them  and  given  to 
another  nation.  Israel  had  been  rejected,  cast  out,  for¬ 
saken,  divorced ;  but  in  order  to  be  consistent  with  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  many  passages 
in  the  New  Testament,  we  contend  that  the  other 
nation  to  which  Jesus  referred  could  have  been  none 
other  than  the  house  of  Israel,  that  other  nation  of 
the  two  nations  into  which  the  seed  of  Abraham  were 
divided. 

'‘But”  says  one,  "Paul  said,  I  turn  to  the  Gentiles, 
I  am  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  I  magnify  mine 
office.”  True,  and  in  this  he  was  obeying  the  order, 
"To  the  Jew  first,”  but  the  Lord  certainly  sent  him 
also  to  the  Gentiles.  The  trouble  with  this  word  Gen¬ 
tiles  to  the  ordinary  English  reader  is,  that  to  his  mind 
it  always  excludes  God’s  chosen  people;  whereas  it 
only  excludes  the  Jewish  portion  of  the  chosen  race. 
There  are  three  Greek  words  in  the  New  Testament 
which  are  translated  Gentile,  and  Gentiles.  One  of 
them  is  Hellen ,  and  its  various  forms,  which  means 
Greek,  Greece,  or  Grecian,  but  is  sometimes  used  in  the 
sense  of  non-Jewish.  The  other  two  words  are  Ethnee, 
and  Ethnos ,  from  which  comes  our  word  ethnology , 
which  is  defined  as :  "The  science  which  treats  of  the 
different  races  and  families  of  men.”  These  two  words 
are  simply  the  singular  and  plural  forms  of  the  same 
root  word.  Liddell  &  Scott’s  Greek  Lexicon  defines, 
Ethnos ,  the  singular,  as,  "A  number  of  people  living 
together,  a  company,  body  of  men,  a  host,  a  tribe,  a 


A  Study  in  Scarlet  31 1 

people.  But,  Ethnee,  the  plural,  is,  of  course,  defined 
by  this  same  authority  as,  “The  nations ,  hosts,  tribes, 
and  peoples.” 

God  said  to  Abraham:  “Thou  shalt  be  the  father 
of  many  nations.” 

Also,  “The  father  of  a  multitude  of  nations  have  I 
made  thee.” 

“I  will  make  nations  of  thee,  and  kings  shall  come 
out  of  thee.” 

“She  (Sarah)  shall  be  a  mother  of  nations ;  kings  of 
people  shall  be  of  her.” 

God  also  said  to  Jacob,  “That  thou  mayest  be  a  com¬ 
pany  of  peoples and,  also,  “A  nation  and  a  company 
of  nations  shall  be  of  thee.” 

Jacob,  by  the  command  of  God,  said  to  Joseph: 
“Behold,  I  will  make  thee  fruitful,  and  multiply  thee, 
and  I  will  make  of  thee  a  multitude  of  people  ” 

God,  in  turn,  said  to  Joseph,  through  Jacob,  “He 
(Manasseh)  also  shall  become  a  people ,  and  he  shall  be 
great:  Howbeit  his  younger  brother  shall  be  greater 
than  he,  and  his  seed  shall  become  a  multitude  of  na¬ 
tions” 

Indeed,  we  have  neither  time  nor  space  to  tell  of  all 
the  host  and  hosts,  the  people  and  peoples,  the  nation 
and  nations,  that  are  involved  in  these  covenant  prom¬ 
ises  ;  but,  surely,  these  will  suffice  to  show  that  these 
covenant  promises  are  ethnical  in  the  fullest  and  broad¬ 
est  sense.  Hence  when  Jesus  sent  Saul  of  Tarsus  to 
the  Ethnee ;  i.  e.,  the  nations,  we  dare  to  say  that  he 
included,  if  he  did  not  wholly  mean,  the  nations  of  the 
birthright  kingdom  of  Israel ;  for  he  said  to  Ananias  in 
a  vision  concerning  this  same  circumstance  of  Paul's 


312  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

call  and  commission :  “He  is  a  chosen  vessel  unto  me, 
to  bear  my  name  before  the  (Ethnee)  Gentiles,  and 
kings,  and  the  Children  of  Israel.” — Acts  9:  15. 

It  was  that  Paul  might  go  to  the  children  of  Israel 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  hindered  him  from  going  into 
Asia,  and  sent  him  into  Macedonia,  which  included  the 
country  once  known  as  Mosei,  and  where  many  of  the 
Saacs  still  lingered.  Then  Paul  pushed  on  into 
Illyricum,  a  country  which  lies  still  further  to  the 
northwest.  This  also  is  Paul’s  reason  for  wanting  to 
go  into  Spain,  whither  he  finally  went.  Iraenus,  one 
of  the  early  Church  Fathers,  writing  concerning  the 
work  of  Paul,  says:  “He  established  many  Christian 
churches  among  the  Keltoi  (Celts).”  Also  Clement, 
of  Rome,  of  whom  Paul  speaks  as  having  his  name  in 
the  book  of  life,  says  of  Paul,  that  he  was  the  “Herald 
(of  the  Gospel  of  Christ)  in  the  West,”  and  that  “he 
had  gone  to  the  extremity  of  the  West .”  This  could 
not  have  been  said  by  a  writer  at  Rome  without  imply¬ 
ing  a  journey  into  some  countries  much  further  to  the 
West.  Chrysostom,  another  early  Church  writer,  says: 
“Paul  preached  in  Spain,”  and,  according  to  the  testi¬ 
mony  of  several  others,  Paul  also  preached  the  Gospel 
to  the  Britons.  At  all  events,  they  received  the  Gospel, 
and  Jesus  Christ,  the  son  of  David,  became  a  “Light 
to  the  nations ;  and  became  the  glory  of  his  people  Is¬ 
rael/'  who  were  ruled  over  by  the  descendants  of  the 
Prince  of  the  scarlet  thread;  and  who  put  a  blood¬ 
stained  cross ,  the  cross  of  St.  George,  into  the  heraldry 
of  their  nation.  Later  they  and  their  brother  nation 
became  the  evangelistic  nations  of  the  world.  Thus 


A  Study  in  Scarlet  313 

through  the  many  nations  of  Abraham’s  seed  has  the 
One  Seed,  the  testator  of  the  new  covenant,  been  a 
blessing  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Well,  indeed,  may  Jesus  say :  "If  ye  believe  not  his 
( Moses )  writings,  how  shall  ye  believe  ky 

WORDS?” 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

(CGYPTO-ISRAELITISH  AND  ANGLO-SAXON  EMBLEMS. 

‘‘Now  Israel  loved  Joseph  more  than  all  his  children, 
because  he  was  the  son  of  his  old  age,  and  he  made 
him  a  coat  of  many  colors. ”  A  souvenir  of  this  coat  of 
many  colors  which  Jacob  made  for  Joseph  is  still  found 
in  the  many-colored  plaid,  as  worn  by  the  Scotch 
Highlanders,  not  only  at  home,  but  by  Highlander 
societies,  which  exist  in  nearly  every  large  Anglo- 
Saxon  city.  The  use  of  this  vari-colored  plaid,  and  the 
custom  of  wearing  it,  can  be  traced  as  far  back  as  the 
Scottish  people  have  any  history,  and  yet  its  origin 
among  them  is  unknown ;  that  is,  it  was  unknown  until 
they  began  to  know  that  they  were  the  descendants 
of  Joseph. 

Also,  once  upon  a  time,  the  Gileadites  were  at  war 
with  Ephraim-Israel,  “and  the  Gileadites  took  the  pass¬ 
ages  of  Jordan  before  the  Ephraimites;  and  it  was  so, 
that  when  those  Ephraimites  which  were  escaped  said, 
Let  me  go  over ;  that  the  men  of  Gilead  said  unto  them, 
Art  thou  an  Ephraimite?  If  he  said,  Nay;  then  said 
they  unto  him,  Say  now  Shibboleth,  and  he  said, 
S-iboleth ;  for  he  could  not  frame  to  pronounce  it 
right/'  The  Ephraimites  seem  to  have  had  trouble 
to  pronounce  the  letter  h ,  and  many  of  Ephraim’s  peo¬ 
ple  still  have  trouble  with  their  h’s,  especially  the  mod¬ 
ern  “Cockney.” 


3i4 


Egypto-Israelitish,  Anglo-Saxon  Emblem  315 

The  Gileadites  seem  to  have  worsted  Israel  in  this 
war  to  which  we  have  referred,  but,  according  to 
prophecy,  there  was  to  come  a  time  when  Ephraim 
would  nevermore  be  conquered  by  a  Gentile  nation. 
And  it  must  have  been  to  this  end  that  the  Lord  told 
the  islands  to  keep  silent,  “until  my  people  renew  their 
strength.’’  For  of  this  same  people,  this  Israel  that 
is  dwelling  in  the  isles,  the  Lord  says:  “Behold,  all 
that  were  incensed  against  thee  shall  be  ashamed  and 
confounded ;  they  that  strive  against  thee  shall  perish ; 
they  shall  be  as  nothing.  Thou  shalt  seek  them,  even 
them  that  contended  with  thee ;  they  that  war  against 
thee  shall  be  as  nothing,  and  as  a  thing  of  naught.  For 
I,  the  Lord  thy  God,  will  hold  thy  right  hand,  saying 
unto  thee,  Fear  not;  I  will  help  thee.  Fear  not,  thou 
worm  Jacob,  and  ye  men  of  Israel;  I  will  help  thee, 
saith  the  Lord.” — Isa.  41:11-14. 

When  Balak,  the  king  of  Moab,  hired  Balaam  to 
curse  Israel,  and  he  could  not,  but  was  compelled  by 
the  Lord  to  bless  Israel,  he  said :  “God  brought  him 
forth  out  of  Egypt;  he  (Israel)  hath,  as  it  were,  the 
strength  of  an  unicorn  ;  he  shall  eat  up  the  nations  his 
enemies,  and  shall  break  their  bones,  and  pierce  them 
through  with  his  arrows.  He  crouched,  he  lay  down 
as  a  lion,  and  as  a  great  lion.  Who  shall  stir  him  up? 
Blessed  is  he  that  blesseth  thee,  and  cursed  is  he  that 
curseth  thee.” — Num.  24:  8-9. 

Now,  it  is  a  most  remarkable  fact  that  two  of  these 
racial  emblems,  the  Lion  and  the  Unicorn,  which  were 
given  to  Israel  with  that  compulsory  blessing,  are  in 
the  coat-of-arms  of  Great  Britain.  This  insignia, 
or  national  seal,  is,  in  part,  the  “Harp  of  David,”  which 


316  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

was  brought  to  the  isles  by  Dan  and  Simeon,  with  the 
U nicorn  reared  on  one  side  and  the  Great  Lion  on  the 
other.  The  Lion  is  both  Judah  s  and  Israel's,  so  also 
is  the  Unicorn  not  only  Israel's,  but  Joseph's,  and  yet 
in  a  special  sense  it  belongs  to  Ephraim,  because  he  had 
the  precedence  in  birthright.  Thus  Moses,  on  the  day 
of  his  death,  while  he  was  reiterating  and  enlarging 
upon  the  prophecies  and  promises  made  by  Jacob  to 
each  of  the  tribal  heads,  said,  concerning  the  blessings 
of  Joseph:  “His  glory  is  like  the  firstling  of  his  Bul¬ 


lock,  and  his  horns  are  like  the  horns  of  Unicorns; 
with  them  he  shall  push  the  people  together  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth ;  and  they  are  the  ten  thousands  of 
Ephraim  (the  thousands  of  each  of  the  ten  tribes)  and 
the  thousands  (of  the  one  tribe)  of  Manasseh." 

The  English  have  not  only  the  lion  and  the  unicorn, 
but  they  have  also  that  which  to  them  may  mean  only 
a  circle  divided  into  four  quarters.  Still  it  is  really  a 
reproduction  of  Ephraim's  cake,  for  the  four  quarter- 


Egypto-Israelitish,  Anglo-Saxon  Emblem  317 

ings  are  made  by  a  cross.  (See  cut.)  In  one  of  these 
quarterings  is  David’s  harp,  and  in  each  of  the  other 
three  are  young  lions. 

That  Manasseh  was  a  separate  tribe  is  known  from 
the  following:  “There  was  also  a  lot  of  the  tribe  of 
Manasseh,  for  he  was  the  first-born  of  Joseph.” — 
Judges  17:1.  Also  the  following:  “For  the  children 
of  Joseph  were  two  tribes,  Manasseh  and  Ephraim; 
therefore,  they  gave  no  part  unto  the  Levites  in  the 
land,  save  cities  to  dwell  in,  with  their  suburbs.” — 
Judges  14:  4.  Thus  was  the  land' divided  by  lot  as  the 
Lord  commanded,  “But  unto  the  tribe  of  Levi  (the 
priests)  Moses  gave  not  any  inheritance;  the  Lord  God 
of  Israel  was  their  inheritance.”  Thus  with  Joseph’s 
two  tribes,  which  was  his  promised  “double  portion,” 
there  were  thirteen  tribes  in  Israel,  and  only  twelve 
divisions  of  the  land,  so  the  Levites  could  have  no  land 
inheritance ;  but  they  had  the  Lord,  which  was  far  bet¬ 
ter,  and  they  were  allowed  to  eat  the  meat  of  sacrifice 
from  off  the  holy  altar. 

But  Manasseh  was  not  only  a  separate  tribe,  but  as 
a  partaker  of  the  birthright  blessing,  he  and  Ephraim 
were  to  grow  together  until  they  became  a  multitude 
in  the  midst  of  the  earth ;  then  he  was  to  be  separated 
from  his  brethren,  and  become  a  great  nation.  This 
is  the  reason  of  the  prophecy,  “Joseph  is  a  fruitful 
bough,  even  a  fruitful  bough  by  a  well  (literally  by 
the  water),  whose  branches  run  over  the  wall.”  Thus 
God  said:  “Let  the  blessing  come  upon  the 

top  of  the  head  of  him  that  was  separated  from  his 
brethren.” 

Since  there  are  thirteen  tribes  in  Israel,  and  since 
Ephraim  and  Manasseh  were  adopted  after  all  the  rest 


318  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

were  born,  and  Ephraim  is  counted  for  Joseph,  or 
rather  that  they  are  counted  interchangeably,  there  is 
no  other  chance  for  Manasseh,  numerically  speaking, 
but  that  he  is  number  thirteen.  Now,  it  is  a  significant 


MANASSEH. 

“He  also  shall  become  a  People,  and  he  also  shall  be  Great.?9 

Gen.xlvlll.  T9* 

(cut  of  the  obverse  side  of  our  national  seal.) 


fact,  that  when  Manasseh  separated  from  Ephraim — 
when  the  people  who  have  become  a  great  nation  sep¬ 
arated  from  those  who  have  become  a  company  of 
nations,  because  their  branches  have  continued  to  run 


Egypto-Israelitish,  Anglo-Saxon  Emblem  319 

over  the  wall — he,  Manasseh,  or  America,  had  just 
thirteen  states,  and  that  thirteen  is  the  prominent  num¬ 
ber  in  all  the  emblems  and  heraldry  of  the  land. 

The  first  national  flag  of  those  original  United  States 
had  thirteen  Stars  and  thirteen  Bars.  The  bars  sym¬ 
bolize  the  Union,  and  the  constellation  of  thirteen  stars 
was  intended  to  symbolize  the  nation  formed  of  thirteen 
independent  states. 

In  this,  the  Great  Seal  of  our  country,  as  represented 
above,  we  have  the  arms  and  crest  of  the  United  States 
of  America.  We  would  first  call  your  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  eagle  is  holding  in  what  is  called  the 
Dexter  talon  an  Olive  Branch.  In  the  fourteenth 
chapter  of  Hosea,  that  prophet,  who  has  so  much  to  say 
about  lost  Ephraim-Israel,  we  have  the  following:  “O 
Israel,  return  unto  the  Lord  thy  God;  I  will  heal  their 
backslidings ;  I  will  love  them  freely ;  for  mine  anger 
is  turned  away  from  him.  .  .1  will  be  as  the  dew  to 
Israel ,  he  shall  grow  like  the  lily  (the  national  flower 
of  Egypt),  and  cast  forth  his  roots  as  Lebanon  (royal 
cedar).  His  branches  shall  spread ,  and  his  beauty 
shall  be  as  the  Olive  tree.  Ephraim  will  say,  What 
have  I  to  do  any  more  with  idols  ?”  Ephraim  is  the  rep¬ 
resentative  of  the  house  of  Joseph,  and  we  have  placed 
this  Scripture  before  our  readers  that  they  may  see  that 
the  Olive  tree  is  among  the  insignia  of  the  birthright 
family,  and  that  it  is  here  represented  as  belonging  to 
one  of  the  Branches  of  the  birthright  kingdom,  and 
since  the  birthright  is  Joseph’s,  it  is  the  Olive  Branch  of 
Joseph  which  has  been  placed  in  the  “Coat  of  Arms”  of 
Manasseh,  the  thirteenth  tribe  in  Israel,  who  has  now 
fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  becoming  a  great  nation . 


320  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Still  this  fact,  if  it  stood  alone,  might  not  mean  so 
much,  but  in  the  other  talon,  which  is  called  the  “Sin¬ 
ister,”  is  a  “Bundle  of  thirteen  Arrows,”  which  repre¬ 
sents  the  nation  individually  and  collectively  prepared 
for  war.  It  is  marvelous  that  the  Olive  Branch  should 
have  been  made  our  official  insignum  of  Peace,  and  that 
the  Arrows  should  have  been  made  by  law  to  represent 
the  War  Power  of  the  country,  for  the  Arrows  were 
in  the  heraldry  of  Israel,  as  well  as  the  Unicorn  and 
Lion,  when  Balaam  was  compelled  to  bless  instead  of 
curse  them.  Also,  the  Josephites  were  How-men,  and 
Jacob,  after  speaking  of  Joseph  and  his  branches,  said, 
“The  archers  have  sorely  grieved  him,  and  shot  at  him, 
and  hated  him.  But  his  Bow  (munitions  of  war)  abode 
in  strength,  and  the  Arms  of  his  hands  were  made 
strong  by  the  hands  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob.” — 
Gen.  49:23-24.  It  is  a  well-known,  and  much-rejoiced- 
over  fact  that  the  Bow  of  the  United  States,  which  has 
sent  her  Arrows  into  the  ranks  of  her  enemies,  has 
always  abode  in  strength,  and  that  both  her  chief  men 
and  people  have  always  said :  “God  has  helped  us.” 

When  Israel  marched  through  the  wilderness,  she 
had  four  standards  that  were  called  “Camp  Standards.” 
One  of  these  was  on  the  north,  one  on  the  east,  one  on 
the  south,  and  one  on  the  west.  But  there  were,  be¬ 
sides  these,  a  family  standard  or  ensign  for  each  tribe. 
Hence  the  Lord  commanded  saying:  “Every  man  of 
the  children  of  Israel  shall  pitch  by  his  own  standard, 
with  the  ensign  of  their  father’s  house ;  afar  off  about 
the  tabernacle  shall  they  pitch.” — Num.  2:  2.  The 
object  of  the  camp  standards  was,  that  when  the  time 
came  to  camp  or  pitch  their  tents  for  the  night,  the 


Egypto-Israelitish,  Anglo-Saxon  Emblem  321 

three  tribes  which  belonged  to  each  of  these  four  camp 
standards  might  gather  to  them.  The  compilers  of  our 
reference  Bibles  understood  this,  hence  they  have  given 
the  references  to  the  four  living  creatures  of  Ezekiel 
1  no  as  follows:  “As  for  the  likeness  of  their  faces, 
they  four  had  the  face  of  a  Man  (Num.  2:10)  and  the 
face  of  a  Lion  (Num.  2 13),  on  the  right  side;  and  they 
four  had  the  face  of  an  Ox  (Num.  2:18)  on  the  left 

side;  they  four  also  had  the  face  of  an  Eagle .  (Num. 
2:25.)” 

» 

The  reference  to  the  Lion  reads :  “And  on  the  east 
side,  toward  the  rising  of  the  sun,  shall  they  of  the 
standard  of  the  camp  of  Judah  pitch  throughout  their 
armies.”  It  was  dying  Jacob  who  gave  the  Lion  to 
Judah  as  the  ensign  of  his  royal  house,  in  the  follow- 
•  Judah  is  a  lions  whelp;  from  the  prey,  my 
son,  thou  art  gone  up ;  he  stooped  down,  he  crouched 
as  a  lion,  and  as  an  old  (Lawbee-old,  great,  stout)  lion, 
who  shall  rouse  him  up  ?”  Oh !  this  is  truly  wonder¬ 
ful,  for,  mark  this,  when  his  race  was  young  Judah 
as  a  Lion’s  Whelp  took  a  leap  with  Dan  from  Palestine 
to  the  isles,  and  now  he  is  there  as  an  Old  Lion,  and 
the  question  is,  “Who  shall  rouse  him  up  ?” 

The  fact  that  we  find  Judah’s  Lion  with  the  Unicorn 
of  Ephraim-Israel  in  the  national  seal  of  the  Brith-ish, 
or  covenant,  people  is  another  evidence  that  the  royal 
remnant  of  the  Judo-Davidic  house  found  their  way 
to  Ephraim-Israel  at  the  time  of  the  uprooting  of  the 
Pharez  line,  who  was  then,  as  now,  living  in  the  isles 
of  the  northwest.  And  it  is  also  another  evidence  that 


322  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

the  Saxon  nations  are  the  nations  of  Israel  upon  whom 
“lighted”  the  Divine  word,  who  is  also  “The  Lion  of 
the  Tribe  of  Judah  ” 

The  reference  from  the  Ox  in  Ezekiel  is  as  follows : 
“On  the  west  side  shall  be  the  standard  of  the  camp 
of  Ephraim  according  to  their  armies.”  Here  again 
we  have  the  representative  of  Joseph,  the  birthright 
holder,  of  whom  Moses  said:  “His  glory  is  like  the 
firstling  of  his  Bullock  ”  The  Hebrew  word  that  is 
here  translated  bullock  is  the  same  as  that  in  Ezekiel 
i :  io,  which  is  rendered  Ox.  In  fact,  there  is  but  one 
word  in  the  Hebrew  (shur,  or  shour)  for  ox,  bull,  or 
cow.  But  the  above  shows  us  that  the  family  ensign 
of  Joseph  was  a  bovine.  This  is  the  reason  for  such 
expressions  as,  “Ephraim  is  an  heifer  that  is  taught,” 
and  “Israel  slideth  back  as  a  backsliding  heifer.”  It 
was  also  because  of  this  fact  that,  when  Jeroboam,  of 
the  house  of  Joseph,  wanted  to  make  idols  which  would 
be  attractive  to  Ephraim-Israel,  he  made  two  calves; 
i.  e.,  a  bullock  and  a  heifer.  The  Unicorn  of  Israel  is 
now  in  the  national  insignia  of  that  people,  but  the 
family  ensign  still  clings  to  them  as  a  national  nick¬ 
name  ;  i.  e.,  “John  Bull  ” 

Thus  far  it  is  clear  that  the  Lion,  of  Ezekiel’s  vision 
was  the  camp  standard  of  Judah,  which  was  on  the 
east ;  and  that  the  Ox  of  his  vision  was  the  ensign  of 
the  family  of  Joseph,  which  was  with  Ephraim  in  the 
west.  As  we  continue  to  investigate  the  signification 
of  these  four  living  creatures  we  find  that  the  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  Eagle  reads  as  follows :  “The  standard 
of  the  camp  of  Dan  shall  be  on  the  north  side  of  their 
armies.”  We  have  already  shown,  while  explaining 


Egypto-Israelitish,  Anglo-Saxon  Emblem  323 

Ezekiel’s  riddle  concerning  the  pulling  down  of  him 
that  was  high,  and  the  exaltation  of  him  that  was  low, 
that  the  Eagle  was,  at  that  time,  the  ensign  of  the  tribe 
of  Dan;  but  since  that  time  they  have  used  the  Leaping 
Lion’s  Whelp,  with  the  serpent’s  tail,  and  the  Eagle,  like 
everything  else  that  pertains  to  national  Israel,  has 
fallen  to  the  birthright  family,  and  is  now  the  national 
ensign  of  the  thirteenth  tribe  of  Israel,  the  people  of 
which  are  not  only  the  descendants  of  Manasseh,  the 
first-born  of  Joseph,  but  they  also  compose  the  first¬ 
born  nation  out  of  the  “Many  Nations/’  which  were 
promised  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  and  Joseph,  and 
whose  ensign  Eagle  holds  in  his  beak  a  scroll  upon 
which  is  written  their  national  motto,  “E  Pluribus 

Unum,”  which  has  thirteen  letters,  and  means  “One 
out  of  MANY.” 

Therefore,  concerning  a  certain  land  which  is  in¬ 
dwelt  by  a  portion  of  Israel,  we  have  the  following: 
Ho  (or  Hail,  not  W oe,  as  in  the  King  James  version 
of  the  Scriptures)  to  the  land  shadowing  with  wings, 
which  is  beyond  the  rivers  of  Ethiopia:  that  sendeth 
ambassadors  by  the  sea,  even  in  vessels  of  bulrushes 
upon  the  waters,  saying :  Go,  ye  swift  messengers, 
to  a  nation  scattered  and  peeled,  to  a  people  terrible 
from  their  beginning  [note  that]  ;  hitherto  a  nation 
meted  out  [measured  out  by  a  time  of  prophecy,  which 
is  called  the  times  of  the  Gentiles ]  and  trodden  down, 
whose  [home,  or  ancient]  land  the  Rivers  [Now, 
therefore,  behold  the  Lord  bringeth  upon  them  (Israel) 
the  waters  of  the  river,  strong  and  many,  even 
the  king  of  Assyria,  and  all  his  glory;  and  he  shall  come 
up  over  all  his  ( Israel’s )  channels,  and  go  over  all  his 


324  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

banks.” — Isa.  18:8-7]  have  spoiled!  All  ye  inhabitants 
of  the  world,  and  dwellers  on  the  earth,  see  ye,  when  he 
(that  nation  shadowed  with  wings)  lifteth  up  an  en¬ 
sign.”  We  have  thus  parenthesized  Isa.  18:8-7  with  Isa. 
18:1-3,  that  our  readers  may  know  that  this  land  which 
had  set  up  an  ensign  of  outstretched  wings  was  a  land 
in  which  Israelites  were  dwelling,  for  it  was  the  king 
of  Assyria,  who  came  up  against  Ephraim-Israel,  over¬ 
flowed  his  land,  and  led  him  into  captivity.  Prior  to 
this,  Moab  had  once  held  Israel  in  derision,  and  the 
Lord,  in  condemning  their  arrogance,  said :  “He 
(Israel)  shall  fly  as  an  Eagle,  and  spread  his  wings 
over  Moab.” — Jer.  48:  40.  No  wings  except  those 
which  are  spread  out  can  be  shadowing  wings,  and  the 
Shadowing  wings  of  Israel’s  Spread  Eagle  are  in  the 
ensign  of  the  United  States  of  America.  Hence,  Amer¬ 
ica  is  the  land  shadowed  by  wings  of  which  Isaiah 
wrote,  whose  ambassadors  cross  the  sea  in  vessels  of 
bulrushes,  or,  literally,  of  caldrons  which  absorb  water ; 
i.  e.,  the  modern  steamship. 

The  Shield ,  or  escutcheon,  which  is  borne  on  the 
breast  of  the  Spread  Eagle,  has  thirteen  pieces,  called 
pales,  or  paleways,  which  comes  from  the  same  word 
as  palings  or  pickets.  These  thirteen  paleways  are 
united  by  one  at  the  top.  The  Lord  said  to  Abraham : 
“I  am  thy  Shield  ” 

On  the  national  seal  of  America,  the  “Great  People,” 
above  the  shadowing  wings  and  the  scroll,  is  a  Cloud 
emitting  rays  of  Glory.  “Aaron  spake  unto  the  whole 
congregation  of  the  children  of  Israel,. .  .and  behold  the 
Glory  of  the  Lord  appeared  in  the  Cloud.”  To  our 
fathers  that  glory  Cloud  was  significant  of  the  presence 


Egypto-Israelitish,  Anglo-Saxon  Emblem  325 

of  Jehovah.  That  Glory  Cloud,  which  hung  over  Israel, 
guided  those  who  had  but  just  escaped  from  the  Egyp¬ 
tian  bondage,  and  it  stood  between  them  and  their  ene¬ 
mies.  But  this  is  not  all,  for  this  Cloud  of  our  American 
heraldry  surrounds  what  is  called  “The  Constellation/’ 


the  great  pyramid. 

THE  REVERSE  SIDE  OF  AMERICANS  NATIONAL  SEAL. 

This  constellation  is  a  group  of  thriteen  stars,  or  plan¬ 
ets,  on  a  field  of  azure  sky,  which  is  exactly  the  same 
number  of  planets  that  appeared  on  the  azure  sky  in 
the  dream  of  Joseph,  which  drove  him  into  separation 
from  his  brethren. 


326  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Any  one  of  these  features  in  the  blazonry  of  our 
nation  might  have  been  a  coincidence,  but  when  we 
see  that  there  is  not  a  single  feature,  but  that  which  is 
Josephic  and  Israelitish,  it  is  simply  astounding.  But 
when  we  turn  our  face  upon  the  reverse  side 
of  that  great  national  seal  we  are  overwhelmed,  for 
there  stands  the  Great  Pyramid  of  Egypt,  which  is  one 
of  the  two  great  monuments  of  Egypt,  the  birthplace 
of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  the  Egypto-Israelitish  sons 
of  Joseph,  the  son  of  Jacob,  the  son  of  Isaac,  the  son 
of  Abraham.  And,  marvel  of  marvels !  The  national 
Crest  of  England  has  that  other  great  monument  of 
Egypt,  the  Sphinx,  on  its  reverse  side.  Thus  do  the 
people  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  of 
America,  the  Brother  nations,  by  that  which  speaks 
louder  than  words,  for  signs  are  arbitrary,  say  that 
they  are  the  offsprings  of  the  Egypto-Israelitish  holders 
of  the  Abrahamic  birthright. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  made  this  declara¬ 
tion  by  that  which  was  made  a  law  on  Thursday,  June 
20,  1782,  for  on  that  day  the  ensign  which  bears  those 
shadowing  wings  of  Israel,  together  with  the  Heraldry 
of  Joseph,  became  a  law  among  us.  Also  over  the 
pyramid  on  the  reverse  side  of  the  Great  Seal  of  Amer¬ 
ica  is  another  thirteen-lettered  motto,  which,  of  course, 
is  not  only  lawful,  but  also  national;  i.  e.,  “Annuit 
Coeptis,” — “He  (the  Lord)  hath  prospered  our  under¬ 
takings.”  This  also  is  Josephic,  for  we  read,  ‘The 
Lord  was  with  Joseph,  and  he  was  a  prosperous  man.” 
“The  Lord  was  with  him  (Joseph),  and  that  which  he 
did  the  Lord  made  it  to  prosper  ” — Gen.  39 :  3-23. 

To  those  who  understand  the  Cabala  and  the  arith- 


Egypto-Israelitish,  Anglo-Saxon  Emblem.1  327 

mography  of  the  Scriptures,  it  is  known  that  the  num¬ 
ber  thirteen  is  significant  of  Rebellion ,  but  all  that  we 
can  say  about  it  here  is  that  the  first  time  this  number 
occurs  in  the  Bible  it  is  with  reference  to  Rebellion 
(Gen.  14:  4).  Surely  that  people  whose  characteristic 
number  is  thirteen  did  rebel  in  1776,  and  prospered  in 
it,  too.  They  also  prospered  in  1814,  in  another  little 
affair  concerning  the  acquisition  of  a  vast  stretch  of 
territory  known  as  Louisiana. 

This  people  have  also  had  rebellion  within  their  own 
borders,  and  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that,  although  thir¬ 
teen  was  not  the  number  of  states  in  the  Confederacy, 
the  Confederate  Congress,  in  1863,  formally  adopted  a 
battle  flag  for  the  Confederacy,  and  also  a  Confederate 
flag.  The  Battle  Flag  was  a  white  field  with  a  blue 
cross  of  this  (X)  shape,  in  which  there  were  thirteen 
stars.  The  flag  for  the  Confederacy  was  white,  with 
a  red  field  in  the  Dexter  chief  corner,  bearing  this  same 
(X)  cross  with  its  thirteen  stars.  Here  again  is  both  re¬ 
bellion  and  the  birthright  cross  of  the  house  of  Joseph. 
In  this  struggle  the  government  also  prospered,  and  it 
was  essential  that  it  should  thus  prosper,  not  only  in 
this  case,  but  also  in  the  others  of  which  we  have 
spoken,  in  order  to  fulfill  a  prophecy  concerning  one 
feature  of  their  history,  namely:  “Shew  my  people 
their  transgression,  and  the  house  of  Jacob  their  sins. 
Is  not  this  the  fast  that  I  have  chosen?  to  undo  the 
heavy  burdens,  and  let  the  oppressed  go  free,  and  that 
Ye  break  every  yoke?”  These  are  the  reasons  for  which 
Our  Race  go  to  war.  England  freed  her  slaves  in  1838 
and  America  freed  hers  in  1861. 

It  has  often  been  said  that  brothers  would  quarrel. 


328  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Judah  and  Ephraim  did,  and  so  have  Ephraim  and 
Manasseh ;  and  the  troubles  to  which  we  have  thus  far 
alluded  have  been  family  affairs.  When  it  comes  to 
these  family  difficulties,  that  one  will  always  conquer 
which  must  do  so  in  order  to  fulfill  the  word  of  God. 
But  when  it  comes  to  war  with  non-Israelitish  nations, 
whether  it  be  to  undo  heavy  burdens,  to  let  the  op¬ 
pressed  go  free,  to  break  the  yoke  of  slavery,  or  for 
whatever  reason,  then  the  Israel  of  which  we  speak 
will  always  succeed.  For  it  is  of  literal,  fleshly,  Joseph 
Israel,  of  whom  also  is  spiritual  Israel,  of  whom  it  is 
said :  “No  weapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall 
prosper.”  And  also  the  following:  “The  remnant  of 
Jacob  shall  be  among  the  Gentiles  in  the  midst  of  many 
people  as  a  lion  among  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  as  a 
young  lion  among  the  sheep  (marg.  goats)  ;  who,  if  he 
go  through,  both  treadeth  down,  and  teareth  in  pieces, 
and  none  can  deliver.  Thine  hand  shall  be  lifted  up 
upon  thine  adversaries,  and  all  thine  enemies  shall  be 
cut  off.” — Mich.  5  :  8-9. 

It  was  in  fulfillment  of  these  promises  that  Napoleon, 
the  hitherto  victor,  bit  the  dust  at  Waterloo.  It  was  in 
fulfillment  of  these  promises  that  the  American  fleet 
entered  Manila  Bay,  and  destroyed  the  enemy’s  fleet 
with  the  loss  of  only  seven  men.  It  was  in  fulfillment 
of  these  words  of  Divine  truth  that  the  American  fleet 
destroyed  the  Spanish  fleet  in  Cuban  waters  and  lost 
only  one  man.  It  was  that  these  promises  might  be 
fulfilled  that  Sam  Houston,  with  only  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  raw  recruits,  fought  the  decisive  battle  against 
the  Mexican  army  at  San  Jacinto,  April  21st,  1836,  in 
which  he  annihilated  the  Mexicans  at  one  blow,  killing 


Egypto-Israelitish,  Anglo-Saxon  Emblem  329 

six  hundred  and  fifty,  capturing  three  hundred  and 
fifty,  and  putting  the  rest  to  flight,  and  yet  losing  only 
eight  men  and  twenty-five  wounded.  But  space  for¬ 
bids  to  tell  of  the  many  similar  cases. 

When  the  children  of  Israel  were  singing  unto  the 
Lord  over  the  victory  he  had  given  them  by  destroying 
the  armies  of  Pharaoh,  they  said:  “Thou  didst  blow 
with  thy  wind ,  the  sea  covered  them :  they  sank  as  lead 
in  the  mighty  waters.  Who  is  like  unto  thee,  O  Lord, 
among  the  mighty  ones?  Who  is  like  thee,  glorious 
in  holiness,  fearful  in  praise,  doing  wonders  ?”  In  the 
forty-first  chapter  of  Isaiah,  where  the  Lord  says  to 
Israel  in  the  isles,  “They  that  War  against  thee  shall 
be  as  nothing,  and  as  a  thing  of  naught,”  he  also  says : 
“Thou  shalt  fan  them,  and  the  wind  shall  carry  them 
away,  and  the  whirlwind  shall  scatter  them.”  One  ful¬ 
fillment  of  this  promise  was  the  destruction  of  the  “In¬ 
vincible  Spanish  Armada,”  when  they  went  against 
the  English  in  1588,  concerning  which  the  American 
Cyclopedia  gives  the  following:  “The  Spanish  Armada 
sailed  May  29,  but  a  storm  compelled  it  to  return;  and 
it  was  not  till  the  end  of  July  that  the  two  fleets  met  and 
joined  in  battle  near  the  English  coast.  After  a  series 
of  actions  that  lasted  several  days,  the  Spaniards  were 
utterly  routed,  the  elements  assisting  the  English.”  The 
underscores  are  ours,  as  we  wish  to  call  your  attention 
to  how  the  Lord  helped.  This  Armada  consisted  of 
130  vessels  all  told,  and  was  unequaled  in  its  time. 
Israel  in  the  isles  had  not  yet  fully  renewed  their 
strength.  The  history  continues,  “Having  left  Lisbon 
for  Corunna  for  stores,  May  29,  1 588,  the  fleet  was  dis¬ 
persed  by  a  violent  storm,  and,  though  all  the  ships 


33°  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

joined  at  Corunna  with  the  exception  of  four,  they 
were  considerably  shattered,  and  had  to  be  repaired. 
Reports  having  reached  England  that  the  armament 
was  completely  disabled,  the  government  ordered  its 
own  ships  to  be  laid  up ;  but  Lord  Howard,  the  admiral, 
opposed  this  order,  set  sail  for  Corunna,  learned  the 
truth,  and  on  his  return  continued  warlike  prepara¬ 
tions.  Soon  after,  being  informed  that  the  Armada  had 
hove  in  sight,  he  weighed  anchor,  and  as  it  passed 
Plymouth,  July  31,  stood  out  in  its  rear  and  opened  a 
destructive  fire.  Having  the  windward  position,  and 
being  greatly  superior  in  speed,  he  was  able  to  inflict 
serious  damage  without  loss  to  himself.  All  the  way 
along  the  channel  the  English  followed  the  Armada 
with  the  same  tactics,  taking  advantage  of  the  changing 
winds ,  harassing  the  Spaniards,  capturing  two  or 
three  of  their  best  vessels,  and  yet  keeping  all  the  while 
virtually  out  of  reach.  The  Spaniards  proceeded 
toward  the  coast  of  Flanders,  keeping  as  close  together 
as  possible  . . .  Off  Calais  the  Armada  cast  anchor,  wait¬ 
ing  for  the  Duke  of  Parma's  fleet  to  come  out  of  the 
Flemish  harbors ;  but  Parma  had  nothing  but  unarmed 
barges,  and  could  not  come  out  until  the  Armada  had 
beaten  off  the  Anglo-Dutch  blockading  squadron. 
Driving  the  Spaniards  out  of  Calais  roads  by  means  of 
fire  ships,  Aug.  8,  Howard  and  Drake  now  forced  them 
toward  the  Flemish  coast,  with  the  purpose  of  getting 
them  into  the  North  Sea  and  cutting  off  their  com¬ 
munications  with  Dunkirk.  The  battle  began  at  day¬ 
break  off  Gravelines,  and  lasted  till  dark.  The  Span¬ 
iards  were  completely  defeated.  Several  of  their  largest 
ships  were  lost,  and  40,000  men  were  killed,  and  prob- 


Egypto-Israelitish,  Anglo-Saxon  Emblem  331 

ably  at  least  as  many  were  wounded.  It  was  impossi¬ 
ble  either  to  return  to  Calais  or  to  reach  the  Duke  of 
Parma.  Their  provisions  were  nearly  exhausted,  and 
the  English  fleet,  apparently  little  injured ,  still  hovered 
on  their  weather  beam.  It  was  imperative  that  they 
should  return  to  Spain  for  fresh  stores.  The  passage 
through  the  channel  being  closed  by  the  English  fleet, 
the  Spaniards,  now  counting  120  vessels,  undertook  to 
round  Scotland  and  Ireland.  But  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Orkneys  they  were  dispersed  by  a  storm.  Some 
of  them  foundered .  About  thirty  were  afterward 
wrecked  on  the  west  coast  of  Ireland .  Those  of  the 
creivs  who  escaped  to  shore  were  generally  killed ,  and 
it  was  calculated  that  about  14,000  thus  perished.” 

Remember,  these  historic  and  cyclopedic  writers  are 
not  supposed  to  know  that  God  has  said  that,  in  order 
to  defend  his  birthright  people,  he  would  send  a  wind 
to  carry  away  this  so-called  “Invincible  Armada,”  and 
a  whirlwind  to  scatter  them.  Hence  their  testimony 
is  all  the  more  striking.  Surely  the  people  of  modern 
Israel,  who  dwell  in  the  Isles,  might  also  sing  unto 
the  Lord,  saying :  Thou  didst  blow  with  thy  wind, 
and  carried  them  (their  enemies)  away,  and  the  whirl¬ 
wind  did  scatter  them.  Who  is  like  the  Lord,  glori¬ 
ous  in  holiness,  fearful  in  praise,  doing  wonders  ?” 
Truly,  Jesus  has  well  said:  ((If  I  have  told  you  of 
earthly  things ,  and  ye  believe  not ,  how  shall  ye  believe 
if  I  tell  you  of  heavenly  (spiritual)  things?” 

CONCESSIONAL. 

Still  we  call  to  our  God  of  old ; 

God  of  the  <(far  off”  Isaac  line ; 


3 32  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Our  God,  whose  word  doth  make  us  bold 
To  claim  our  heritage  divine. 

The  Lord  of  hosts  is  with  us  yet, 

Doth  He  forget?  Doth  He  forget? 

It  cannot  be  that  Isaac  dies ; 

His  people  and  his  kings  depart ; 

Before  his  God  the  Saxon  lies, 

Glad  and  brave,  but  with  contrite  heart. 

The  Lord  of  hosts  is  with  him  yet, 

Doth  He  forget  ?  Doth  He  forget  ? 

Called  in  Him  we  are  today 

No  longer  passing  through  the  fire; 

Altho’  we  were  but  yesterday 
As  one  of  Nineveh  and  Tyre. 

The  Lord  of  nations  guides  us  yet. 

Doth  He  forget  ?  Doth  He  forget  ? 

When  battles  rage  we  cannot  lose, 

God  makes  all  men  to  stand  in  awe 

Of  Saxons,  now  that  He  doth  use 
The  race  to  whom  He  gave  his  law. 

His  t( Battle  ax”  we  are,  as  yet, 

Doth  He  forget  ?  Doth  He  forget  ? 

Our  fathers  once  did  idols  trust, 

Also  their  strength  and  iron  shard ; 

Now,  though  we  number  as  the  dust, 

We  call  on  thee,  Lord  God,  to  guard ! 

For  Thou  hast  proved  Thy  holy  word, 

Shown  mercy  to  Thy  people,  Lord ! 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  TWO-FOLD  ASPECT  OF  PROPHETIC  ISRAEL. 

The  multitude  of  people  which  was  predicted  for 
the  house  of  Joseph  never  was  realized  while  they 
dwelt  in  Samaria,  their  Palestinean  home;  but  the  in¬ 
crease  of  the  Saxon  race  is  acknowledged  to  be  phe¬ 
nomenal.  National  statistics  show  that  Russia  doubles 
her  population  in  140  years,  Spain  in  142  years,  France 
in  150  years,  Turkey  in  555  years;  but  that  England 
doubles  her  population  every  45  years,  and  that  the 
United  States  doubles  theirs  in  25  years.  This  is  a 
wonderful  vindication  of  the  truth  which  we  are  bring¬ 
ing,  for  the  word  of  truth  declares:  “Thou  hast  in¬ 
creased  the  nation,  O  Lord,  thou  hast  increased  the 
nation :  thou  hast  removed  it  far  unto  all  the  ends  of 
the  earth.  — Isa.  26:15.  The  fulfillment  of  this  proph¬ 
ecy  is  today  called  “Imperialism.” 

One  of  the  first  national  characteristics  mentioned  in 
prophecy  concerning  Isaac’s  seed  is,  that  they  shall 
possess  the  gates  of  those  that  hate  them.  Gates  are 
entrances.  National  gates  are  now  called  “ports.” 
Since  the  acquisition  of  the  Sandwich  Isles,  Porto  Rico 
and  the  Philippines  by  the  United  States,  the  Saxons 
control  nearly  all  the  national  gateways  of  the  world. 
For,  prior  to  that  time,  England  and  America  con¬ 
trolled  all  the  ports  of  the  North  American  con¬ 
tinent,  and  England  possessed,  not  only  all  the  ports 
of  the  British  Isles  and  those  in  Australian  waters,  but 


333 


334  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

also  Gibraltar,  Suez  Canal,  Malta,  Alexandria,  Cyprus 
Island,  gates  into  China,  the  German  Ocean,  the  Cape 
gate  into  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  all  the  gates  of  India, 
gates  along  the  east  and  west  coasts  of  Africa,  and  the 
Cape  Horn  gate  from  the  Atlantic  into  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  In  the  face  of  such  foretold  facts  as  these 
for  the  house  of  Joseph,  need  we  be  surprised  that 
God,  who  declareth  the  end  from  the  beginning,  should 
include  in  the  blessings  of  his  birthright  man,  “the  deep 
that  croucheth  beneath”  his  vessels  ? 

The  Lord  also  says  of  Joseph,  “He  shall  push  the 
people  together ,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth:  and  they 
(who  together  are  doing  the  pushing)  are  the  ten  thou¬ 
sands  of  Ephraim,  and  they  are  the  thousands  of  Ma- 
nasseh.”  This  seems  to  imply  an  alliance,  offensive  and 
defensive,  on  the  part  of  these  brother  nations,  the 
outcome  of  which  will  be  that  they  together  shall  push 
the  rest  of  the  nations  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  This 
alliance  would  be  but  natural,  for  while  it  is  true  that 
brothers  are  apt  to  quarrel  and  fight  among  themselves, 
it  is  also  true  that  one  of  these  brothers  is  not  going  to 
stand  by  and  allow  a  stranger  to  jump  on  his  brother 
and  thresh  him.  And  while  we  write,  the  talk  of  just 
such  an  alliance  is  in  the  air,  and  we  are  sure  the  result 
will  be  as  God  hath  said. 

God  also  further  says,  “Behold,  the  people  of  Israel 
shall  rise  up  as  a  great  Lion,  and  lift  himself  as  a 
young  lion;  he  shall  not  lie  down  until  he  eat  of  the 
prey,  and  drink  of  the  blood  of  the  slain.  He  hath  as 
it  were  the  strength  of  an  Unicorn:  he  shall  eat  up  the 


The  Two-fold  Aspect  of  Prophetic  Israel  335 

nations  his  enemies,  and  shall  break  their  bones,  and 
pierce  them  through  with  his  Arrows/'  We  have 
requoted  this  Scripture,  concerning  the  eating  up  of  the 
nations,  so  that  our  readers  may  see  that,  when  this 
time  of  the  destruction  of  the  nations  comes,  the  Lion 
of  Judah,  which  is  with  Ephraim,  the  Unicorn  of 
Ephraim,  and  the  Arrows  of  Manasseh  are  together, 
i.  e.,  England  and  America. 

The  Lord  also  says  of  this  same  people,  “The  por¬ 
tion  of  Jacob  is  not  like  them  (destroyed)  ;  for  he 
(God)  is  the  former  of  all  things:  Israel  is  the  rod  of 
his  inheritance :  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name.  Thou 
art  my  Battle  Ax  and  Weapons  of  War:  for  with 
thee  will  I  break  in  pieces  the  nations,  and  with  thee 
will  I  destroy  kingdoms Jer.  51:  19-20.  “There  is 
none  like  unto  the  God  of  Jeshurun  (symbol  name  for 
Israel),  who  rideth  upon  the  heaven  in  thy  help,  and 
in  his  excellency  on  the  sky.  The  eternal  God  is  thy 
refuge,  and  underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms :  and 
he  shall  thrust  out  the  enemy  from  before  thee ;  and 

shall  say,  Destroy  them.  Israel  then  shall  dwell  in 
safety  alone.” — Deut.  33 :  26-27. 

This  is  undoubtedly  to  be  the  final  outcome  of 
Israel  s  history,  and  yet,  prior  to  this,  and  while  they 
are  dwelling  in  the  midst  of  other  nations,  it  is  said 
of  them:  “The  remnant  of  Jacob  shall  be  in  the  midst 
of  many  people  as  a  dew  from  the  Lord,  as  the  showers 
upon  the  grass.”  And  yet  it  is  in  the  very  next  verse 
that  the  prophet  says  of  this  same  people,  that  they 
are  the  strongest  power  on  earth,  “Who,  if  fu:  go 


336  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

through,  both  treadeth  down,  and  teareth  in  pieces,  anc/ 
none  can  deliver.” — Micah  5 :  7-8. 

Here,  to  say  the  least,  is  a  two-fold  aspect,  or  two 
characteristics  of  the  same  race ;  that  is,  a  people  who 
are  as  the  refreshing  and  fruitful  showers,  and  as 
dew  from  the  Lord  to  the  nations  around  them;  and 
yet  they  are  a  people  whom  none  of  those  nations  who 
go  to  war  with  them  can  conquer.  This  double  phase 
of  character  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  are  that  por¬ 
tion  of  the  elect  race  with  whom  are  those  who  also 
belong  to  the  election  of  grace .  This  is  both  the 
national  and  the  spiritual  character  of  the  Christian¬ 
ized  house  of  Joseph,  for  the  Lord  does  say  of  Eph- 
raim-Israel,  whom  he  says  is  in  the  isles  afar  off,  whom 
he  also  calls  the  nations,  of  whom  he  says,  “Thou  shalt 
yet  plant  vines  upon  the  mountains  of  Samaria  ”  that 
they  “found  grace  in  the  wilderness ;  even  Israel — 
Jer.  31.  We  are  told  that  the  lazv  was  given  by  Moses, 
but  that  grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ,  and 
since  the  Divine  word  which  was  sent  to  Jacob  lighted 
upon  Israel,  even  Ephraim,  we  know  that  the  grace 
which  they  received  in  their  far  away  home  was  the 
Grace  of  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God.  The  wilder¬ 
ness  where  these  people  received  the  grace  of  God  is 
that  country  whither  they  went  when  they  were  cast 
out  of  the  land  of  their  fathers,  which  at  that  time  was 
unknown  and  uninhabited,  hence  a  wilderness.  The 
fact  that  this  people  received  the  Gospel,  while  cast  out 
and  lost,  is  also  a  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy  by  Jere¬ 
miah  in  which  the  Lord  says  that  he  will  send  many 
fishers,  Gospel  fishers,  and  they  shall  fish  them.  This 


The  Two-fold  Aspect  of  Prophetic  Israel  3 37 

is  also  why  we  are  told  that  “Ephraim  shall  say,  What 
have  I  to  do  any  more  with  idols  ?” 

“But,”  questions  one,  “are  there  no  Gentiles  who 
have  become  Christians  except  these  nations  which  are 
of  the  birthright  kingdom  of  Israel  ?”  Our  answer  is, 
Yes ;  but  each  of  these  also,  like  Ephraim  and  Manas- 
seh,  needed  to  be  adopted.  This  is  why  we  are  told, 
“As  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ 
have  put  on  Christ.  And  if  ye  be  Christ’s,  then  are  ye 
Abraham’ s  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the  promise.” 
This  adoption  is  necessary  in  all  cases  where  the  per¬ 
sons  are  of  non-Israelitish  nations,  for  the  covenants, 
the  promises,  and  the  adoption  are  Israelitish,  and  be¬ 
long  to  none  who  are  not  of  the  seed  of  Abraham. 
Those  who  are  thus  adopted  become  flesh  of  his  flesh 
and  bone  of  his  bone.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  Jesus 
took  on  himself  the  seed  of  Abraham,  for  it  behooved 
him  to  be  made  like  unto  his  brethren.  This  involves 
many  questions  which  cannot  be  discussed  here,  but  we 
take  time  to  say  that,  in  order  to  belong  to  the  election 
of  grace,  the  adopted  son  is  born  of  the  spirit,  and  the 
home-born  must  also  be  born  of  the  spirit.  It  is  the 
conquering,  literal,  fleshly  Israel  that  is  a  type  of  the 
conquering,  literal,  spiritual  Israel.  It  is  the  literal, 
fleshly  adoption  into  national  Israel,  which  is  the 
earthly  family  of  God,  that  is  a  type  of  the  literal  spirit¬ 
ual  adoption  into  the  heavenly  family  of  God,  of  whom 
Jesus  Christ  was  the  first-born  among  many  brethren, 
both  in  the  flesh  and  in  the  spirit,  and  who  is  also  the 
first-born  among  many  brethren  in  a  two-fold  sense,  for 
he  was  not  only  the  first  among  those  who  are  both 


338  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

sons  of  God  and  sons  of  Abraham,  but  he  was  also  the 
first  out  of  the  many  who  shall  yet  be  “the  children  of 
the  resurrection” 

The  fact  that  Joseph-Israel  becomes  Christianized 
while  cast  out  of  their  land  is  the  reason  for  the*  fol¬ 
lowing  :  “Loose  thyself  from  the  bands  of  thy  neck,  O 
captive  daughter  of  Zion.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord,  Ye 
sold  yourselves  for  naught,  and  ye  shall  be  redeemed 
without  money.  For  thus  saith  the  Lord  God,  My  peo¬ 
ple  went  down  aforetime  into  Egypt  to  sojourn  there, 
and  then  Assyrian  oppressed  them  without  cause.”  To 
be  redeemed  without  money  is  certainly  a  new  covenant 
truth,  and  one  that  is  heralded  from  our  pulpits  every¬ 
where.  On  Mt.  Zion,  inside  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  the 
city  of  David,  were  the  royal  dwellings ;  hence,  Zion 
becomes  one  of  the  generic  names  for  the  seed  of 
Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Joseph  or  Judah.  This  captive 
daughter  of  Zion,  who  the  Lord  declares  shall  be 
redeemed  without  money,  went  first  to  Egypt,  and  was 
also  oppressed  by  the  Assyrian.  It  was  the  Birthright 
people  who  were  led  captive  into  Assyria. 

It  is  the  barren  woman,  the  desolate,  the  woman  for¬ 
saken ,  the  one  who  knew  the  reproach  of  widowhood, 
the  wife  of  youth,  who  had  been  divorced,  of  whom  the 
Lord  declares,  that  she  had  more  children  than  when 
married,  and  to  whom  the  Lord  says :  “Enlarge 
the  place  of  thy  tent  (dwelling)  and  let  them  stretch 
forth  the  curtains  of  thine  habitations,  spare  not, 
lengthen  thy  cords,  and  strengthen  thy  stakes;  for 
thou  shalt  break  forth  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the 
left;  and  thy  seed  shall  inherit  the  Gentiles."  “Impe- 


The  Two-fold  Aspect  of  Prophetic  Israel  339 

rialism”  again.  But  it  is  this  same  woman  to  whom  the 
Lord  says,  “Thy  maker  is  thine  husband  .  .  .  for  a 
small  moment  have  I  forsaken  thee;  ...  In  a  little 
wrath  I  hid  my  face  from  thee  for  a  moment ;  but  with 
everlasting  kindness  will  I  have  mercy  on  thee,  saith 
the  Lord  thy  Redeemer .  ...  In  righteousness  shalt 
thou  be  established ;  and  great  shall  be  the  peace  of  thy 
children.  .  .  .  Whosoever  shall  gather  against  thee 
shall  fall  for  thy  sake.  .  .  .  No  weapon  that  is  formed 
against  thee  shall  prosper  (be  this  weapon  against 
either  the  election  of  grace  or  against  their  nation)  ; 
and  every  tongue  that  shall  rise  against  thee  in  judg¬ 
ment  thou  shalt  condemn.  This  is  the  heritage  (na¬ 
tional  and  spiritual)  of  the  servants  of  the  Lord,  and 
their  righteousness  is  of  me,  saith  the  Lord.” — Isa. 
54th  chapter.  “For  the  transgressions  of  my  people 
was  he  (he  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter) 
stricken.” 

Jesus  said,  concerning  his  Church,  “I  will  never  leave 
thee  nor  forsake  thee”;  and  concerning  this  one-time 
cast-off  and  forsaken  people,  this  promise  is  given : 
“Thou  shalt  no  more  be  termed  forsaken.”  Why? 
Because  “the  Redeemer  shall  come  to  Zion,  and  unto 
them  that  turn  from  transgression  in  Jacob,  saith  the 
Lord.  As  for  me,  this  is  my  covenant  with  them,  saitll 
the  Lord ;  My  spirit  that  is  upon  thee,  and  the  words 
which  I  have  put  in  thy  mouth,  shall  not  depart  out 
of  thy  mouth,  nor  out  of  the  mouth  of  thy  seed,  nol 
out  of  the  mouth  of  thy  seed's  seed,  saith  the  Lord, 
from  henceforth  and  forever.” — Isa.  59:20-21. 

The  failure,  hitherto,  to  identify  the  Gospel  promise* 
as  belonging  to  that  branch  of  the  Abrahamic 


340  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

posterity  which  has  the  accompanying  national  charac¬ 
teristics,  has  been  the  cause  of  untold  confusion,  untold 
harm,  untold  skepticism,  as  well  as  much  loudly-told 
infidelity,  both  within  the  pale  of  Christian  denomina¬ 
tions  and  out  of  them. 

Tom  Paine  boldly  asserted  that  he  was  led  into  in¬ 
fidelity  because  he  saw  that  the  Jewish  people  never 
had  fulfilled  and  never  could  fulfill  the  prophecies  of  the 
Old  Testament.  In  1898  B.  Fay  Mills,  the  one-time 
Spirit-filled  evangelist,  said,  “In  the  fourth  place,  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  (to  Israel)  have  not 
been  realized.  Today,"  he  says,  “the  Bible  is  no  more 
inspired  than  the  Koran." 

"The  Lord  of  Hosts  hath  sworn,  saying,  Surely  as  I 
have  thought,  so  shall  it  come  to  pass;  and  as  I  have 
proposed,  so  shall  it  stand." — Isa.  14:  24. 

Prof.  Rawlinson,  in  his  Homiletics  on  the  above  text, 
says:  “It  is  weakness  on  the  part  of  man  to  need  any 
confirmation  of  a  promise  which  God  makes.  When 
He  condescends  to  swear  that  his  promise  shall  hold 
good,  it  does  not  really  add  to  the  certainty  of  the 
thing  promised,  since  the  certainty  was  absolute  from 
the  first.  But  man  is  so  accustomed  to  mistrust  his 
fellows  that  he  will  even  mistrust  God,  as  though  with 
him  were  Variableness  or  shadow  of  turning.' "  And 
yet  this  same  Prof.  Rawlinson  when  writing  of  the 
ten-tribed  Kingdom  of  Israel,  says:  “ They  ceased  to 
exist.”  It  is  painful  to  find  men  who  will  speak  so 
highly  of  God  at  one  time  and  so  belittle  him  in  regard 
to  his  promises  to  Israel.  Well  may  the  Lord  say, 
“Thus  have  they  despised  my  people,  that  they  should 
be  no  more  a  nation  before  them." 


The  Two-fold  Aspect  of  Prophetic  Israel  341 

The  Rev.  Baring  Gould  tells  us  that  "God’s  first 
purpose  has  been  partially  frustrated.  The  church  has 
taken  Israel’s  place  as  the  body.” 

Dr.  Ladd,  in  The  Doctrine  of  Scripture,  Vol.  1,  page 
442,  says :  "The  Christian  church  has  taken  the  place 
of  the  Jew  to  receive  in  different  form  the  substance  of 
the  salvation  which  they  expected  for  themselves.  The 
Christian  church  is  the  true  Israel,  the  seed  of  Abra¬ 
ham,  the  inheritor  and  recipient  of  the  Messianic 
prophecies.” 

Opinions,  similar  to  these,  are  held  generally 
throughout  the  Christian  church ;  while  others  hold 
that  we  are  a  sort  of  modern  Israel  of  whom  the  Bible 
is  silent,  and  yet  both  schools  appropriate  to  Chris¬ 
tianity  all  the  good  things  which  are  promised  to  the 
Lord’s  chosen  people,  and  pile  all  the  evil  things  upon 
the  Jews.  As  if  the  Lord  were  guilty  of  making  prom¬ 
ises  to  one  people  and  fulfilling  them  to  another. 

To  be  in  harmony  with  the  facts,  Dr.  Ladd  should 
have  defined  the  situation  as  follows :  "The  Christian 
church  is  the  true  Israel  of  God  which  has  received,  in 
the  same  form  and  substance,  that  salvation  which  the 
Jews  refused,  for  it  is  composed  of  men  who  are  born 
of  the  spirit  and  who  belong  to  the  material  Israel,  the 
seed  of  Abraham,  the  inheritors  and  recipients  of  the 
Messianic  prophecies,  upon  whom  lighted  the  Divine 
word — he  whom  the  Jews  rejected.” 

In  the  chapter  on  the  heraldry  of  Israel  and  the 
Saxons,  we  explained  that  the  Lion,  the  young  Ox, 
and  the  Eagle  were  the  camp  standards  of  Israel.  But 
we  gave  no  explanation  concerning  "The  Man,”  which 
was  also  one  of  these  four  camp  standards.  The  refer- 


342  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

ence  to  the  man  in  Ezekiel  1:10  cites  us  to  Numbers, 
.2:10,  which  reads:  “On  the  south  side  shall  be  the 
standard  of  the  camp  of  Reuben."  Concerning  these 
symbols,  Dr.  Seiss  says:  “]ewish  writers  tell  us  that 
the  standard  of  each  tribe  of  Israel  took  the  color  of 
the  stone  which  represented  it  in  the  High  Priest's 
breastplate,  and  that  there  was  wrought  upon  each  a 
particular  figure— a  lion  for  Judah,  a  young  ox  for 
Ephraim,  a  man  for  Reuben,  and  an  eagle  for  Dan. 
These  were  the  representative  tribes,  and  all  the  rest 
were  marshaled  under  these  four  standards  (Num. 
11 )  > — Judah,  on  the  east,  with  Issachar  and  Zebulon; 
Reuben,  on  the  south,  with  Simeon  and  Gad ;  Ephraim, 
on  the  west,  with  Manasseh  and  Benjamin ;  and  Dan, 
on  the  north,  with  Asher  and  Naphtali.  In  the  center 
of  this  quadrangular  encampment  was  the  tabernacle 
of  God,  with  four  divisions  of  Levites  forming  an 
inner  encampment  around  it.  It  was  thus  that  Israel 
was  marched  through  the  wilderness,  under  the  four 
banners  of  the  lion,  the  young  ox,  the  man,  and  the 
flying  eagle.  These  were  their  ensigns,  their  guards, 
their  coverings,  the  symbols  of  power  by  which  they 
were  protected  and  guided.  They  were  parts  of  that 
divine  and  heavenly  administration  which  led  them 
forth  from  bondage,  preserved  them  in  the  wilderness, 
and  finally  settled  them  in  the  promised  land."  These 
facts  were  undoubtedly  known  to  the  compilers  of  our 
reference  Bibles,  hence  the  references  from  Ezekiel’s 
vision  to  the  outward,  material  and  earthly  aspect  of 
the  people  to  whom  Ezekiel  was  sent,  for  he  was  sent 
to  the  ten-tribed  kingdom,  and  remained  among  them 
seven  days.  (See  former  chapter.) 


1  he  Two- fold  Aspect  of  Prophetic  Israel  343 

We  know  of  no  Old  Testament  Scriptures  which  will 
show  why  the  ensign  of  Reuben  was  a  man  except  that 
the  name  Reuben  means  "Behold  a  son,”  or  "See  ye  a 
son.”  Genesis  29  .-32  settles  that  forever.  A  son  pre¬ 
supposes  a  man.  The  sons  of  Benjamin  were  the  men 
of  Benjamin,  as  we  have  shown.  Also,  a  son  of  Israel 
is  a  man  of  Israel.  It  is  certainly  fitting  that  the  ensign 
of  Reuben  should  have  been  a  man ,  for  he  was  the  first¬ 
born  of  Israel.  An  expression  like  this  :  "Who  raised 
up  this  righteous  man  from  the  east  ?”  as  applied  to  the 
nation  of  Israel,  may  have  had  some  reference  to  the 
ensign  of  the  man  of  Reuben.  But,  if  this  be  so,  it 
would  be  next  to  an  impossibility  to  trace  it  positively, 
for  the  word  man  is  in  such  general  use  that,  should 
we  undertake  it,  we  should  soon  get  lost  in  the  mazes. 

But  we  are  sure  of  this  one  thing,  namely :  that  the 
ensign  of  that  first-born  of  Israel  was  a  type  of  another 
first-born,  of  whom  the  prophet  declares,  "Unto  us  a 
son  is  born,  and  my  people  Israel,  even  Ephraim,  shall 
know.”  Also,  when  this  son  of  Abraham  was  led  out 
to  be  slain  for  the  sins  of  that  people,  Pilate  said :  "Be¬ 
hold  the  man.” 

Joseph  inherited  the  first-born  blessing  which  Reu¬ 
ben  forfeited  and  the  ensign  of  the  cross  in  the  hands 
of  the  people  who  are  the  inheritors  of  the  blessings  of 
the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  the  Son  of  God,  declared, 
in  the  arbitrary  language  of  signs,  "Behold  the  man.” 
Thus  it  seems  that  the  "Double  Portion”  of  Joseph 
was  a  type  of  his  double  blessing,  i.  e.,  the  blessing  of 
the  Abrahamic  Birthright  and  the  Gospel  of  Grace,  for 
they  certainly  are  the  recipients  of  both. 


344  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 


It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  Lord  says:  “They,” 
Joseph-Israel,  “shall  rejoice  in  their  portion:  therefore 
in  their  land  they  shall  possess  the  Double  (i.  e.,  two 
portions  in  the  land)  :  everlasting  joy  shall  be  unto 
them.  .  .  .  And  their  seed  shall  be  known  among  the 
Gentiles,  and  their  offspring  among  the  people ;  all  that 
see  them  shall  acknowledge  them,  that  they  are  the  seed 
which  the  Lord  hath  blessed.” — Isa.  61  *.7-9. 

This  word  double  gives  that  whole  prophecy  in  the 
context  to  Joseph.  The  next  verse  is  as  follows:  “/ 
will  greatly  rejoice  in  the  Lord;  my  soul  shall  be  joy¬ 
ful  in  my  God\  for  he  hath  clothed  me  with  the  gar¬ 
ments  of  salvation ,  he  hath  covered  me  with  the  robe 
of  righteousness ,  and  as  a  bridegroom  decketh  himself 
with  ornaments,  and  as  a  bride  adorneth  herself  with 
her  jewels” 

Truly  “God  is  good  to  Israel,  even  to  such  as  are 
of  a  clean  heart.”  Among  that  people  who  received 
“grace  in  the  wilderness”  none  may  have  a  clean  heart 
except  those  who  trust  the  blood  of  atonement ;  i.  e.,  the 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world. 

Prior  to  the  crucifixion  of  this  man,  this  first-born 
Son  of  God,  Caiaphas,  in  the  heat  of  discussion  con¬ 
cerning  the  interests  of  their  nation,  said :  “Ye  know 
nothing  at  all,  nor  consider  that  it  is  expedient  for  us, 
that  one  man,  should  die  for  the  people,  and  that  the 
whole  nation  perish  not.  And  thus  spake  he  not  of  him¬ 
self :  but  being  high  priest  that  year,  he  (unconscious¬ 
ly)  prophesied  that  Jesus  should  die  for  that  nation: 
and  not  for  that  nation  only ;  but  that  also  he  should 
gather  together  in  one  the  children  of  God  that  were 


The  Two-fold  Aspect  of  Prophetic  Israel  345 

scattered  abroad”  The  children  of  God  that  were  scat¬ 
tered  abroad  at  that  time  were  the  ten  tribes  of  the 
Birthright  kingdom  of  Israel,  and  we  say,  without  the 
possibility  of  being  successfully  contradicted,  that  the 
restoration  of  Israel  is  in  the  atonement,  and  that  Jesu9 
not  only  died  to  fulfill  Isa.  53 :  8,  but  also  that  he  might 
perform  that  good  thing  which  he  had  promised  unto 
the  house  of  Israel  and  to  the  house  of  Judah ;  i.  e.,  the 
gathering,  the  return,  the  restoration  of  his  chosen 
people,  with  all  its  glorious  results. 

This  is  why  Paul  said,  “And  now  I  stand  and  am 
judged  for  the  hope  of  the  promise  made  of  God  unto 
our  fathers :  unto  which  promise  our  twelve  tribes,  in¬ 
stantly  serving  God  day  and  night,  hope  to  come.  For 
which  hope's  sake,  King  Agrippa,  I  am  accused  of  the 
Jews."  (Acts  26:6-7.)  This  is  also  why  he  says, 
“Now  we  beseech  you,  brethren,  by  the  coming  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  our  gathering  together  unto 
him."  It  was  because  this  restoration  is  all  through 
the  words  of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  because 
Jesus  had  died  to  accomplish  it,  that,  after  his  resurrec¬ 
tion,  and  just  before  his  ascension,  the  last  question 
which  his  apostles  ask  is,  “Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time 
restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?"  He  did  not  tell 
them  that  there  was  to  be  no  restoration.  He  simply 
told  them  that  they  were  not  to  know  the  times  or  sea¬ 
sons  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  his  own  power. 
Later  they  understood  that  it  was  to  come,  with  the 
second  coming  of  Christ,  at  which  time  he  is  to  gather 
Israel,  and  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever. 

Thus,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  men  out  of 
every  nation  under  heaven  were  assembled  together, 


346  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

Peter  said :  “Men  and  brethren,  let  me  freely  speak  unto 
you  of  the  patriarch  David,  that  he  is  both  dead  and 
buried,  and  his  sepulchre  is  with  us  unto  this  day. 
Therefore,  being  a  prophet,  and  knowing  that  God  had 
sworn  with  an  oath  unto  him  that  of  the  fruit  of  his 
loins,  according  to  the  flesh,  he  would  raise  up  Christ 
to  sit  on  his  throne ;  he,  seeing  this  before,  spake  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ.”  (Acts  2:29-31.) 

According  to  this  reasoning,  David  did  not  expect 
Christ  to  sit  on  his  throne  until  after  he  shall  have  been 
raised  from  the  dead,  and  we  know  that  he  is  not  on 
David’s  throne  now.  He  is  sitting  at  the  right  hand 
of  God  on  his  throne,  for  “Him  hath  God  exalted  with 
his  right  hand  to  be  a  Prince  (a  Prince  is  a  coming 
king)  and  a  Saviour,  for  to  give  repentance  to  Israel, 
and  forgiveness  of  sins.”  (Acts  5  :3i.)  Hence,  Peter, 
after  telling  the  Jews  that  this  Prince  whom  they  had 
killed,  was  both  Lord  and  Christ,  very  kindly  says, 
And  now,  brethren,  I  wot  that  through  ignorance  ye 
did  it  (God  help  Christians  of  today  to  be  thus,  or  even 
more  charitable),  as  did  also  your  rulers.  But  those 
things,  which  God  before  had  shewed  by  the  mouth  of 
all  his  prophets,  that  Christ  should  suffer,  he  hath  so 
fulfilled.  Thus  we  see,  that  the  apostles  only  claimed, 
for  others  of  them  were  with  Peter,  that  those  things 
which  were  written  concerning  the  sufferings  of  Christ 
were  fulfilled.  So,  Peter  continues  his  discourse,  saying, 
And  he  (God)  shall  send  Jesus  Christ,  which  before 
was  preached  unto  you :  Whom  the  heaven  must  retain 
until  the  times  of  restitution  of  all  things,  which  God 
hath  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  his  holy  prophets  since 
the  world  began.”  (Acts  3  :i7-2i.) 


The  Two-fold  Aspect  of  Prophetic  Israel  347 

Mark  that,  please !  “All  things  which  God  hath 
spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  his  holy  prophets/’  and 
nothing  else,  but  surely  all  that  which  God  hath  spoken. 
Just  that,  nothing  more,  nothing  less,  can  vindicate. 
Nothing  more  is  necessary,  but  it  is  absolutely  essential 
for  the  complete  vindication  of  God  and  his  Christ  that 
all  which  God  hath  spoken  be  so  fulfilled. 

All  the  suffering  phases  concerning  this  rejected  one, 
as  recorded  by  all  the  prophets,  have  in  like  manner 
been  fulfilled.  The  despised  and  rejected  Man  of  Sor¬ 
rows  came.  The  oppressed,  afflicted  and  grief-stricken 
man  with  the  marred  visage  has  been  smitten.  The 
stripe-beaten  back  has  been  bared  and  has  borne  its 
heavy  load.  The  prison,  the  judgment  hall,  the  trial, 
the  mocking,  jeering,  insulting,  spitting,  raging  mob 
are  come  and  gone.  The  dumb  Lamb,  whose  heart 
broke  and  melted  like  wax  within  him,  has  been  led 
to  the  slaughter.  In  company  with  criminals,  he  has 
poured  out  his  soul  unto  death,  and  the  mutilated  body 
has  been  laid  away  in  its  foretold  rich  man’s  grave. 
But  that  grave  could  not  hold  its  holy  treasure,  for  his 
prophet  Father  had  said,  “Neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thine 
Holy  One  to  see  corruption.” 

These  and  many  other  things  which  were  foretold  by 
the  prophets  he  hath  so  fulfilled;  but  Jesus,  himself, 
said :  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law 
(word),  or  the  prophets:  I  am  not  come  to  destroy, 
but  to  fulfill  (these).  For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  Till 
heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in  no 
wise  pass  from  the  law  (“to  the  law  and  to  the  testi¬ 
mony,  if  they  speak  not  according  to  thy  word ,  it  is 
because  there  is  no  light  in  them”),  till  all  be  fulfilled." 


348  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

The  heaven  and  the  earth  are  still  held  in  their  place*, 
all  that  is  written  in  the  prophets  has  not  yet  been  ful¬ 
filled,  but  IT  SHALL  BE.  For  Gabriel  said  to  Mary, 
“Thou  shalt  conceive  in  thy  womb  (she  did),  and  bring 
forth  a  son  (she  did),  and  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus 
Ghat  was  his  name).  He  shall  be  great  (Prophet, 
High  Priest,  Prince,  and  Saviour),  and  shall  be  called 
the  Son  of  the  Highest  (God,  himself,  opened  heaven, 
and  said,  “This  is  my  beloved  Son”)  ;  and  the  Lord  God 
shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father  David 
[that  throne  has  not  yet  been  given  to  him],  and  he 
shall  reign  [“Upon  the  throne  of  David,  and  upon  his 
kingdom,  to  order  it,  and  to  establish  it  with  judgment 
and  justice  (elements  which  it  now  lacks)  from  hence¬ 
forth  even  forever  (the  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  will 
perform  this)]  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever  and  of 
his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end.,,  Thus  we  see  that 
these  promises  concerning  David’s  greater  Son  were 
fulfilled  only  in  part  at  his  first  coming.  When  Jesus 
comes  the  second  time,  he  will  come  as  Shiloh.  Unto 
him  shall  the  people  gather,  and  he  will  then  sit  on  the 
throne  of  his  father  David,  and  reign  over  the  house  of 
Jacob  forever.  For  it  is  written:  “Behold,  the  days 
come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  raise  unto  David  a 
righteous  Branch,  and  a  King  shall  reign  and  prosper, 
and  shall  execute  judgment  and  justice  in  the  earth/’ 
It  is  of  the  fact  of  this  coming  King  for  the  king¬ 
dom  of  David  that,  when  the  apostles  and  elders  of  the 
newly  founded  church  were  in  counsel,  James  spoke: 
“Men  and  brethren,  hearken  unto  me:  Simeon  hath 
declared  how  God  at  first  did  visit  the  Gentiles,  to  take 
out  of  them  a  people  (the  remnant  of  grace)  for  his 


The  Two-fold  Aspect  of  Prophetic  Israel  349 

name  (i.  e.,  that  they  might  become  his  bride).  And 
to  this  agree  the  words  of  the  prophets ;  as  it  is  written, 
After  this  I  will  return,  and  will  build  again  the  taber¬ 
nacle  (royal  dwellings,  and  palaces)  of  David,  which 
are  fallen  down  (those  on  'Mt.  Zion)  ;  and  I  will  build 
again  the  ruins  thereof,  and  I  will  set  it  up.”  (Acts 
15:13-16.) 

Jesus  died  to  confirm  the  promises  made  to  the  fath¬ 
ers,  not  to  transfer  them.  “He  that  keepeth  thee  will 
not  slumber.  Behold,  he  that  keepeth  Israel  shall 
neither  slumber  nor  sleep.”  (Ps.  121 : 4-5.) 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  COMING  EXODUS. 

“Therefore,  behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord, 
that  it  shall  no  more  be  said,  The  Lord  liveth,  that 
brought  up  the  children  of  Israel  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt ;  but,  The  Lord  liveth,  that  brought  up  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  Israel  from  the  land  of  the  north,  and  from  all 
the  lands  whither  he  had  driven  them :  and  I  will  bring 
them  again  into  their  land  that  I  gave  unto  their  fath¬ 
ers/’  (Jer.  16:14-15.) 

Here  is  a  promised  exodus  which  is  based  upon  the 
exodus  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt,  and  which,  because  of 
its  magnitude,  is  to  so  eclipse  the  one  upon  which  it  is 
based  that  the  former  will  cease  to  be  remembered. 

The  blindest  of  the  blind  leaders  of  the  blind  claim 
that  this  prophecy  was  fulfilled  when  the  Jewish  people 
returned  from  the  Babylon  captivity.  But  such  could 
not  have  been  the  case,  for  the  Jews  went  only  to  Baby¬ 
lon,  and  from  Babylon  they  returned !  but  this  on¬ 
coming  exodus  includes  the  children  of  Israel ,  who  are 
to  come  from  all  lands  whither  the  Lord  has  driven 
them. 

When  Israel  came  up  out  of  Egypt  they  numbered 
about  two  and  a  half  millions.  This  estimate  is  made 
from  the  fact  that  there  were  six  hundred  thousand  men 
of  war  beside  the  young  men,  who  were  too  young  for 
war,  and  the  old  men,  who  were  too  old  for  war,  and 
also  women  and  children.  This  great  company  was 


! 


350 


The  Coming  Exodus  351 

taken  out  of  Egypt  in  a  body  by  the  Lord  himself  with 
the  greatest  manifestations  of  Divine  power  the  world 
has  ever  known — will  ever  know,  until  the  exodus  in 
question  takes  place.  But  the  Jews  returned  from 
Babylon  in  two  small  companies,  without  any  super¬ 
natural  manifestation  as  to  their  leaving  Babylon,  while 
they  were  en  route,  or  when  they  arrived  at  Jerusalem ; 
and  the  Divinest  authority  of  this  earth  declares,  ‘The 
whole  congregation  together  was  forty  and  two  thou¬ 
sand  three  hundred  and  threescore,  beside  their  serv¬ 
ants  and  their  maids,  of  whom  there  were  seven  thou¬ 
sand  three  hundred  thirty  and  seven ;  and  there  were 
among  them  two  hundred  singing  men  and  singing 
women.”  (Ezra  2 :  64-65.) 

But  “it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  when  the 
Lord  shall  set  his  hand  again  the  second  time  to  recover 
the  remnant  of  his  people,  which  shall  be  left,  from 
Assyria,  and  from  Egypt,  and  from  Cush,  and  from 
Elam,  and  from  Shinar,  and  from  Hamath,  and  from 
the  islands  of  the  sea.  And  he  shall  set  up  an  ensign 
<the  ensign  of  one  who  is  “a  root  of  Jesse")  for  the 
nations  (i.  e.,  the  notions  into  which  the  Birthright 
people  have  developed),  and  shall  assemble  the  outcasts 
of  Israel  (or  the  outcast  Israel),  and  gather  the  dis¬ 
persed  of  Judah  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth. 
The  envy  also  of  Ephraim  shall  depart,  and  the  adver¬ 
saries  of  Judah  shall  be  cut  off  (Russia,  beware!  Rou- 
mania,  beware!  France,  beware!)  :  Ephraim  shall  not 
envy  Judah,  and  Judah  shall  not  vex  Ephraim. 

And  the  Lord  shall  utterly  destroy  the  tongue  of  the 
Egyptian  Sea;  and  with  his  mighty  wind  shall  he 
snake  his  hand  over  the  river,  and  shall  smite  it  in  the 


352  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

seven  streams,*  and  make  men  go  over  dry  shod.  And 
there  shall  be  an  highway  for  the  remnant  of  his  peo¬ 
ple  which  shall  be  left  from  Assyria,  like  as  it  was  to 
Israel  in  the  day  that  he  came  up  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt.”  (Isa.  ii  :i2-i6.) 

Ephraim-Israel  is  that  portion  of  the  Lord’s  people 
which  is  left  from  the  Assyrian  captivity,  and  Judah  is 
the  Jewish  portion  of  the  Lord’s  people  which  has  been 
scattered  to  the  four  corners  (or  wings)  of  the  earth. 
These  are  to  return  together,  and  for  that  reason  one 
shall  not  vex  the  other.  At  one  stage  of  this  return, 
or  while  they  are  returning,  the  Lord  is  not  only  to 
destroy  utterly  the  tongue  of  the  Egyptian  Sea,  but  is 
also  to  dry  up  the  seven  mouths,  or  delta,  of  the  river 
Nile.  This  was  not  done,  nor  could  it  have  been  done, 
when  the  Jews  returned  from  Babylon,  for  these  places 
are  in  diametrically  opposite  directions. 

Another  feature  of  this  returning  is  that  “In  those 
days,  and  in  that  time,  saith  the  Lord,  the  children  of 
Israel  shall  come,  they  and  the  children  of  Judah  to¬ 
gether,  going  and  weeping;  they  shall  go,  and  seek  the 
Lord  their  God.  They  shall  ask  the  way  to  Zion  with 
their  faces  thitherward,  saying,  Come,  and  let  us  join 
ourselves  to  the  Lord  in  a  perpetual  covenant  that 
shall  not  be  forgotten.”  This  people  did  forget,  and 
did  break  the  law  covenant,  but  now  they  are  going 
back  to  Zion  to  make  an  everlasting  covenant  with  the 
Lord. 

Other  features  of  this  returning  are  given  as  fol¬ 
lows:  “Behold,  I  will  bring  them  from  the  north 
country,  and  gather  them  from  the  coasts  of  the  earth, 
and  with  them  the  blind  and  the  lame,  the  women  with 


*See  frontispiece. 


t 


The  Coming  Exodus  353 

child  and  her  that  travaileth  with  child  together :  a 
great  company  shall  return  thither.  They  shall  come 
with  weeping,  and  with  supplications  will  I  lead  them : 
I  will  cause  them  to  walk  by  the  rivers  of  waters  in  a. 
straight  way,  wherein  they  shall  not  stumble :  for  I  am 
a  father  to  Israel,  and  Ephraim  is  my  first-born. 

“Hear  the  word  of  the  Lord,  O  ye  nations  (Ephraim, 
the  Birthright  people,  who,  prior  to  this  return,  have 
become  many  nations),  and  declare  it  in  the  isles  afar 
off  (Ephraim  now  living  in  the  British  Isles)  and  say, 
He  that  scattered  Israel  will  gather  him  and  keep  him, 
as  a  shepherd  doth  his  flock. 

For  the  Lord  hath  redeemed  Jacob,  and  ransomed 
him  from  the  hand  of  him  that  was  stronger  than  he. 
Therefore  they  shall  come  and  sing  in  the  height  of 
Zion,  shall  flow  together  to  the  goodness  of  the  Lord, 
for  wheat,  and  for  wine,  and  for  oil,  and  for  the  young 
of  the  flock  and  of  the  herd ;  and  their  soul  shall  be  as 
a  watered  garden ;  and  they  shall  not  sorrow  any  more 
at  aH”  (Jer.  31 :  8-13.) 

When  this  return  is  consummated,  the  Lord  will  keep 
his  people,  as  a  shepherd  keepeth  his  flock.  When  the 
Jews  returned  from  Babylon,  they  were  not  thus  kept. 
Also,  after  this  return  has  been  accomplished  both  Israel 
and  Judah  are  to  sorrow  no  more.  But  when  the  Jews 
returned  from  Babylon  they  had  more  sorrow  than 
before.  This  great  company  sorrows  while  returning, 
but  when  once  there  they  are  to  “sing  in  the  heights  of 
Zion.’’  The  Jews  returned  from  Babylon  to  “cry  from 
sorrow  of  heart,  and  with  vexation  of  spirit.” 

Furthermore,  Babylonia,  or  Chaldea,  of  which  the 
city  of  Babylon  was  the  capital,  was  an  inland  empire. 


354  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

and  was  not  in  possession  of  any  island  territory; 
neither  did  they  possess  the  “coasts  of  the  earth.’' 
Hence  the  Jews  could  have  come  neither  from  the 
coasts  of  the  earth,  nor  from  the  isles  of  the  sea,  when 
they  came  from  Babylon. 

This  return  is  taught  in  that  wonderful  forty-ninth 
chapter  of  Isaiah,  in  which  there  is  so  much  of  the  his¬ 
tory  of  Israel  since  they  went  to  the  isles,  and  in  which 
is  the  following :  “Listen,  O  isles,  unto  me :  hearken,  ye 
people,  from  far ;  .  .  .  thou  art  my  servant,  Israel,  in 
whom  I  will  be  glorified.  .  .  .  *Behold,  these  shall 
come  from  the  north  and  west,”  i.  e.,  Northwest.  But 
when  the  Jews  returned  from  the  Chaldean  empire 
they  came  from  the  east.f 

Still  other  incidents  of  this  exodus  are,  that  these 
people  shall  come  “upon  horses,  and  in  chariots 
(wheeled  vehicles),  and  in  litters  (marg.  coaches), 
and  upon  mules,  and  upon  swift  beasts,  and  to  my  holy 
mountain  Jerusalem,  saith  the  Lord.”  (Isa.  66:20.) 
Also  the  following:  “Surely  the  isles  shall  wait  for 
me,  and  the  ships  of  Tarshish  first  to  bring  my  sons 
from  far,  their  silver  and  their  gold  with  them,  unto 
the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  to  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel.” 

One  of  the  results  of  this  return  is  given  as  follows : 
“I  will  bring  again  the  captivity  of  my  people  Israel, 
and  they  shall  build  the  waste  cities,  and  inhabit  them ; 
and  they  shall  plant  vineyards,  and  drink  the  wine 
thereof ;  they  shall  also  make  gardens,  and  eat  the  fruit 
of  them.  And  I  will  plant  them  upon  their  land,  and 
they  shall  no  more  be  pulled  up  out  of  their  land  which 
I  have  given  them,  saith  the  Lord  thy  God.”  (Amos 


*See  frontispiece. 
fSee  frontispiece. 


355 


The  Coming  Exodus 

9:I4-I5-)  After  the  Jews  returned  from  Babylon  they 
were  pulled  up;  but  after  this  return  has  taken  place, 
both  Israel  and  Judah  shall  remain  in  their  land  for¬ 
ever. 

But  it  is  also  certain  that  this  return  cannot  take 
place  until  Israel  has  been  lost,  increased  to  a  multitude, 
and  then  been  found.  For  it  is  written :  “Yet  the  num¬ 
ber  of  the  children  of  Israel  (Joseph-Ephraim)  shall 
be  as  the  sands  of  the  sea,  which  cannot  be  measured  nor 
numbered ;  and  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  in  the  place 
where  it  was  said  unto  them,  Ye  are  not  my  people 
(lost),  there  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  Ye  are  (found) 
the  sons  of  the  living  God.  “Then” — yes,  then,  and 
not  until  then— ‘‘shall  the  children  of  Judah  (the  Jews) 
and  the  children  of  Israel  (the  Joseph-Ephraim  Birth¬ 
right)  be  gathered  together,  and  appoint  themselves 
one  head,  and  they  shall  come  up  out  of  the  land :  for 
great  shall  be  the  day  of  Jezreel.”  (Hosea  x  :ii.) 

Zara,  or  Zera,  is  the  root  of  this  word  Jezreel,  and 
means,  not  only  the  seed,  but  also  to  sow  (the  seed),  to 
plant,  to  fructify.  But  the  word  Jezreel  means  “God 
will  sow”  (see  Strong’s  Exhaustive  Concordance). 
Hence  the  day  of  Jezreel  is  God’s  time  to  fulfill  the 
prophecy  given  by  Amos,  which  we  have  quoted  above, 

1.  e.,  “I  will  plant  them  upon  their  land,  and  they  shall 
no  more  be  pulled  up,”  etc 

It  is  because  this  day  of  Jezreel  was  in  prospect  that 
the  Lord  gave  the  following  to  the  prophet  Ezekiel : 
“Prophesy  therefore  concerning  the  land  of  Israel. 

But  ye,  O  mountains  of  Israel,  ye  shall  shoot  forth  your 
branches,  and  yield  your  fruit  to  my  people  of  Israel ; 
for  they  are  at  hand  to  come.  For,  behold,  I  am  for 


356  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

you,  and  I  will  turn  unto  you  all  the  house  of  Israel, 
even  all  of  it ;  and  the  cities  shall  be  inhabited,  and  the 
wastes  shall  be  builded.  And  I  will  multiply  upon  you 
man  and  beast,  and  they  shall  increase  and  bring  fruit ; 
and  I  will  settle  you  after  your  old  estates,  and  will  do 
better  unto  you  than  at  your  beginnings :  and  ye  shall 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord.  Yea,  I  will  cause  men  to 
walk  upon  you,  even  my  people  Israel !  and  they  shall 
possess  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  their  inheritance,  and 
thou  shalt  no  more  henceforth  be  bereaved  of  them.” 
(Ezek.  36:  8-12.) 

When  this  return  has  been  accomplished,  Israel,  “all 
of  it”  shall  do  better  than  at  the  first.  But  after  the 
Jews  returned  from  Babylon,  although  they  returned 
cured  of  idolatry,  they  suffered  more  and  did  worse 
than  they  did  before;  for  they  said,  concerning  that 
royal  Prince  of  the  house  of  David,  “Let  his  blood  be 
upon  us,  and  upon  our  children  ” 

Also,  when  the  day  of  Jezreel  comes,  Judah  and 
Israel  are  to  appoint  themselves  one  head  (rosh — chief 
ruler).  It  is  at  that  time  that  the  Lord  will  take  the 
two  sticks,  the  stick  of  Joseph  and  the  stick  of  Judah, 
put  them  together,  and  they  shall  be  one  in  his  hand. 
At  that  time  the  Lord  says,  “I  will  make  them  one 
nation  in  the  land  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel ;  and 
one  king  shall  be  king  of  them  all ;  and  they  shall  be 
no  more  two  nations,  neither  shall  they  be  divided  into 
two  kingdoms  any  more  at  all.  Neither  shall  they 
defile  themselves  any  more  with  their  idols,  nor  their 
detestable  things,  nor  with  any  of  their  transgressions ; 
but  I  will  save  them  out  of  all  their  dwelling  places, 
wherein  they  have  sinned,  and  will  cleanse  them:  so 


The  Coming  Exodus  357 

shall  they  be  my  people,  and  I  will  be  their  God.  And 
David  (the  royal  line)  my  servant  shall  be  king  over 
them ;  and  they  all  shall  have  one  shepherd :  they  shall 
also  walk  in  my  judgments,  and  observe  my  statutes, 
and  do  them.  And  they  shall  dwell  in  the  land  that  I 
have  given  unto  Jacob  my  servant,  wherein  your  fathers 
have  dwelt ;  and  they  shall  dwell  therein,  even  they,  and 
their  children,  and  their  children's  children,  forever : 
and  my  servant  David  (they  are  to  gather  to  an  ensign 
of  a  root  of  Jesse)  shall  be  their  prince  forever. 

“Moreover,  I  will  make  a  covenant  of  peace  with 
them  (the  remnant  according  to  the  election  of  grace 
have,  already,  found  peace  through  Jesus  Christ,  the 
son  of  David,  the  son  of  Abraham,  the  son  of  God)  ;  it 
shall  be  an  everlasting  covenant  with  them  (“They  shall 
ask  the  way  to  Zion  with  their  faces  thitherward,  say¬ 
ing,  Come,  and  let  us  join  ourselves  to  the  Lord  in  a 
perpetual  covenant  that  shall  not  be  forgotten"),  and  I 
will  place  them,  and  multiply  them,  and  I  will  set  my 
sanctuary  in  the  midst  of  them  forevermore.  My 
tabernacle  (dwelling  place)  also  shall  be  with  them. 
Yea,  I  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people. 
And  the  heathen  shall  know  that  I,  the  Lord,  do  sanc¬ 
tify  Israel  (the  remnant,  according  to  the  election  of 
grace,  may,  by  meeting  the  conditions,  be  sanctified 
now  through  the  blood  of  the  slain  Prince  of  David, 
i.  e.,  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world),  when  my  sanctuary  shall  be  in  the  midst  of 
them  forevermore."  (Ezek.  37:  22-28.) 

This  is  to  be  the  time  of  the  everlasting  possession 
of  the  land  which  God  gave  to  our  fathers.  Prior  to 
this  time  it  is  declared :  “The  people  of  thy  holiness 


358  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

have  possessed  it  (the  land)  but  a  little  while.”  But  in 
the  thirty-seventh  chapter  of  Ezekiel,  prior  to  the  giv¬ 
ing  of  that  part  of  the  chapter  which  we  have  quoted, 
the  Lord  told  the  prophet  that  the  valley  of  dry  bones 
was  the  whole  house  of  Israel,  and  told  him  to  say  unto 
them :  “Behold  my  people,  I  will  open  your  graves,  and 
cause  you  to  come  out  of  your  graves,  and  bring  you 
into  the  land  of  Israel.  And  ye  shall  know  that  I  am 
the  Lord,  when  I  have  opened  your  graves,  O  my  peo¬ 
ple,  and  brought  you  up  out  of  your  graves,  and  shall 
put  my  spirit  in  you,  and  ye  shall  live,  and  I  shall  place 
you  in  your  own  land.  Then  shall  ye  know  that  I  the 
Lord  have  spoken  it,  and  performed  it,  saith  the  Lord.” 

This  is  to  be  the  time  of  which  the  Lord  has  spoken, 
saying,  “The  nation  and  kingdom  that  will  not  serve 
thee  shall  perish;  yea,  those  nations  shall  be  utterly 
wasted.  The  glory  of  Lebanon  shall  come  unto  thee, 
the  fir  tree,  the  pine  tree,  and  the  box  together,  to  beau¬ 
tify  the  place  of  my  sanctuary;  and  I  will  make  the 
place  of  my  feet  glorious.  The  sons  also  of  them  that 
afflicted  thee  shall  come  bending  unto  thee ;  and  all  they 
that  despised  thee  shall  bow  down  at  the  soles  of  thy 
feet;  and  they  shall  call  thee,  The  city  of  the  Lord, 
The  Zion  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  Whereas  thou 
hast  been  forsaken  and  hated,  so  that  no  man  went 
through  thee,  I  will  make  thee  an  eternal  excellency. 
*  *  *  Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  down ;  neither  shall 
thy  moon  withdraw  itself ;  for  the  Lord  shall  be  thine 
everlasting  light,  and  the  days  of  thy  mourning  shall 
be  ended.  Thy  people  also  shall  be  righteous;  they 
shall  inhabit  the  land  forever;  the  branch  of  my 


The  Coming  Exodus  359 

planting ,  the  work  of  my  hands ;  that  I  may  be  glori¬ 
fied/'  (Isa.  60;  12- 13- 14- 15  and  20-21.) 

Great  violence  has  been  done  to  the  truth  of  God 
by  those  who  have  tried  to  spiritualize  these  prophecies, 
instead  of  seeing  in  them  a  time  foretold,  during  which 
this  earth  is  to  see  its  most  spiritual,  hence  its  most 
glorious,  age ;  for  this  is  but  the  climax  of  the  Gospel 
era,  which,  in  the  New  Testament,  is  often  called  “The 
Day  of  the  Lord/’  This  is  the  time  long  foretold 
when,  “the  wolf  also  shall  dwell  with  the  kid;  and 
the  calf  and  the  young  lion  and  the  fatling  together; 
and  a  little  child  shall  lead  them.  And  the  cow  and 
the  bear  shall  feed ;  their  young  ones  shall  lie  down 
together ;  and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox.  And 
the  sucking  child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of  the  asp, 
and  the  weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  cocka¬ 
trice's  den.  They  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my 
holy  mountain ;  for  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea.  And 
in  that  day  there  shall  be  a  root  of  Jesse,  which  shall 
stand  for  an  ensign  of  the  peoples/'  This  is  in  har¬ 
mony  with  Zech.  3:10,  which  reads  as  follows:  “I 
will  remove  the  iniquity  of  that  land  in  one  day.  In 
that  day,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  shall  ye  call  every 
man  his  neighbor  under  the  vine  and  under  the  fig 
tree.” 

Now,  these  facts  are  in  perfect  accord  with  the  out¬ 
come  of  the  new  covenant,  as  declared  in  the  New  Test¬ 
ament,  of  which  Christ  is  the  mediator,  and  which 
could  not  beg^n  to  come  into  effect  until  the  death  of  the 
testator.  So  it  is  recorded  in  the  book  of  Hebrews  as 
follows:  “But  now  hath  he  (Christ)  obtained  a  more 


360  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

excellent  ministry,  by  how  much  also  is  he  the  mediator 
of  a  better  covenant,  which  was  established  upon  bet¬ 
ter  promises.  For  if  that  first  covenant  had  been  fault¬ 
less,  then  should  no  place  have  been  sought  for  the 
second.  For,  finding  fault  with  them,  he  saith,  Behold 
the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  when  I  will  make  a 
new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel  and  the  house 
of  Judah  (the  two  houses) ;  not  according  to  the  cove¬ 
nant  that  I  made  with  their  fathers  in  the  day  when 
I  took  them  by  the  hand  to  lead  them  out  of  the  land 
Egypt  >  because  they  continued  not  in  my  covenant, 
and  I  regarded  them  not,  saith  the  Lord.  For  this  is 
the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel 
after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord;  I  will  put  my  laws 
into  their  mind,  and  write  them  in  their  hearts ;  and  I 
will  be  to  them  a  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people. 
And  they  shall  not  teach  every  man  his  neighbor,  and 
every  man  his  brother,  saying,  Know  the  Lord:  for 
all  shall  know  me,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest.” 

Thus  we  find  that  both  houses,  Israel  and  Judah _ 

Joseph  and  Judah,  the  Sceptre  and  the  Birthright— are 
included  in  this  new  covenant,  which,  when  it  reaches 
its  climax,  must  be  in  fulfillment  of  that  foretold  condi¬ 
tion,  in  which  every  man  from  the  least  to  the  great¬ 
est  shall  know  the  Lord;  together  with  all  spiritual 
and  glorious  results,  which  are  described  as  following 
such  a  blessed  and  holy  condition  among  men.  Also, 
according  to  this  explanation  of  the  Gospel  or  New 
Testament  covenant,  it  is  understood  that  our  Jewish 
brother  of  the  house  of  Judah  must  come  into  this 
covenant  before  the  doors  of  grace  and  mercy  are 
closed.  That  part  of  the  new  covenant  promises  which 


The  Coming  Exodus  361 

is  quoted  by  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
was  given  to  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  who  also  says,  in 
addition  to  that  which  is  quoted  in  Hebrews,  “I  will 
cause  the  captivity  of  Judah  and  the  captivity  of  Israel 
to  return,  and  will  build  them,  as  at  the  first.  And  I 
will  cleanse  them  from  all  their  iniquity,  whereby  they 
have  sinned  against  me;  and  I  will  pardon  all  their 
iniquities,  whereby  they  have  sinned,  and  whereby  they 
have  transgressed  against  me.  .  .  .  Behold  the  days 
come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  perform  that  good 
thing  which  I  have  promised  unto  the  house  of  Israel 
and  to  the  house  of  Judah.  In  those  days,  and  at  that 
time,  will  I  cause  the  Branch  of  Righteousness  to  grow 
up  unto  David;  and  he  (the  Branch)  shall  execute 
judgment  and  righteousness  in  the  land.” 

“In  those  days  shall  Judah  be  saved ,  and  Jerusalem 
shall  dwell  safely ;  and  this  is  the  name  wherewith  she 
shall  be  called  The  Lord  Our  Righteousness.” 
(Jer.  33:7-14-16.) 

Still  Jeremiah  prophesies  concerning  this  time  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  “Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that 
I  will  raise  unto  David  a  righteous  Branch,  and  a  King 
shall  reign  and  prosper,  and  execute  judgment  and  jus¬ 
tice  in  the  earth.  In  his  days  Judah  shall  be  saved, 
and  Israel  shall  dwell  safely:  and  this  is  his  name 
whereby  he  shall  be  called  The  Lord  Our  Righteous¬ 
ness.” 

Meanwhile  Paul  asks  “What  then?”  and  answers, 
“Israel  hath  not  obtained  that  for  which  he  seeketh; 
but  the  election  (of  grace)  hath  obtained  it  and  the 
rest  were  blinded.”  It  seems  that  the  reason  that  Jere¬ 
miah  is  careful  in  these  prophecies  to  say  that  Judah 


362  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

# 

shall  be  saved  in  those  days  when  David’s  son  is  king, 
is  that  Israel  is  having  her  opportunity  now,  and  that 
all  in  Israel  who  will  turn  to  God  and  serve  him  are 
doing  so  in  this  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit.  Except¬ 
ing  of  course,  those  out  of  all  Israel  who  will  turn  to 
God  in  the  time  of  the  great  tribulation,  which  is  also 
called  the  time  of  Jacob’s  trouble.  For  that  is  the  time 
of  which  it  is  written,  “They  shall  look  upon  me  whom 
they  have  pierced  (prior  to  this  the  whole  house  of 
Israel  will  have  been  brought  up  out  of  their  graves), 
and  they  shall  mourn  for  him,  as  one  mourneth  for  his 
only  son,  as  one  that  is  in  bitterness  for  his  firstborn. 
In  that  day  there  shall  be  great  mourning  in  Jerusa¬ 
lem.”  (Zech.  10: 11.) 

It  was  because  of  this  time  that  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  said  to  the  house  of  Judah,  “Your  house 
is  left  unto  you  desolate,  and  ye  shall  see  me  no  more 
until  ye  say,  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord.”  They  had  said  this  when  he  made  his 
triumphal  entry  into  the  holy  city,  for  they  thought  that 
the  promised  restoration,  and  its  attendant  kingdom 
“should  immediately  come,”  but  our  Lord  gave  them 
the  parable  of  the  nobleman’s  son  going  to  a  far  coun¬ 
try  to  receive  a  kingdom  and  return,  and  gave  the  com¬ 
mand  “Occupy  till  I  come.”  Thus  we  see  that  that 
glad  hosannah  which  went  up  from  Jerusalem  was  but  a 
type.  Its  great  prototype  is  ahead.  Just  ahead,  as  we 
verily  believe. 

This  work  of  planting  Israel  in  their  own  land  and 
keeping  them  there  forever,  that  the  Lord  might  be 
glorified,  is  in  harmony  with  the  following:  “When 
the  house  of  Israel  dwelt  in  their  own  land  they  defiled 


The  Coming  Exodus  363 

it  by  their  own  way  and  by  their  doings.  ...  I 
poured  my  fury  upon  them.  ...  I  scatttered  them 
among  the  heathen  and  they  were  dispersed  among  the 
countries.  .  .  .  When  they  entered  unto  the  heathen, 
whither  they  went,  they  profaned  my  holy  name,  when 
they  (the  heathen)  said  of  them,  These  are  the  people 
of  the  Lord,  and  are  gone  out  of  his  land.  But  I 
had  pity  for  mine  holy  name,  which  the  house  of  Israel 
had  profaned  among  the  heathen,  whither  they  went. 
Therefore  say  unto  the  house  of  Israel,  Thus  saith  the 
Lord  God :  I  do  this  not  for  your  sakes,  but  for  mine 
holy  name’s  sake,  which  ye  have  profaned  among 
the  heathen,  whither  ye  went.  And  I  will  sanc¬ 
tify  my  great  name,  which  was  profaned  among  the 
heathen,  which  ye  have  profaned  in  the  midst  of  them ; 
and  the  heathen  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord 
God,  when  I  shall  be  sanctified  in  you  before  their  eyes. 
For  I  will  take  you  from  among  the  heathen  and 
gather  you  out  of  all  countries,  and  will  bring  you 
into  your  own  land  ...  I,  the  Lord,  have 
spoken  it  and  I  will  do  it.”  (Ezek.  36.) 

When  this  exodus  takes  place,  and  the  gathering 
to  Shiloh  is  completed — concerning  which  there  are 
many  things  that  we  dare  not  mention  because  we 
cannot  deal  with  them  conclusively — it  will  be  on 
such  a  stupendous,  glorious,  and  supernatural  scale, 
that  the  Lord  called  John  up  into  the  etherial  heav¬ 
en  to  give  him  a  revelation  of  it,  the  description  of 
which  is  found  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  Revelation. 

Before  John  was  taken  up  a  voice  said  to  him :  “I 
will  show  thee  things  which  must  be  hereafter.”  After 
he  was  taken  up  the  first  thing  which  John  saw  was  a 


364  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

throne  set  in  heaven.  This  signifies  a  kingdom. 
Around  this  throne  there  was  a  rainbow,  which  is  a 
symbol  of  the  promise.  “And  round  about  the  throne 
were  four  and  twenty  seats  (thrones)  and  upon  the 
seats  I  saw  four  and  twenty  elders  sitting,  clothed  in 
white  raiment ;  and  they  had  on  their  heads  crowns  of 
gold."  In  Christianized  Israel  there  are  twenty-four 
elders,  i.  e.,  the  twelve  patriarchal  sons  of  Jacob,  and 
the  twelve  apostles  of  Jesus  Christ.  “Out  of  the  throne 
proceeded  lightnings  and  thunderings  and  voices.” 
These  are  the  symbols  of  the  judgment  and  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  these  scenes,  we  are  told  that  the  judgment 
was  set. 

Around  about  the  throne  were  four  beasts,  or  living 
creatures.  The  first  of  these  was  like  a  lion;  the 
second  like  a  Calf,  or  young  ox;  the  third  had  the 
face  of  a  man  ;  and  the  fourth  was  like  a  flying 
eagle.  These,  as  we  have  learned,  are  the  national 
ensigns  of  the  nations  of  Israel.  Some  writers  oppose 
the  translation  of  the  original  word  into  beasts,  and 
others  oppose  the  translation  of  living  creatures,  but 
both  are  correct ;  for  beasts  are  the  symbols  of  human 
governments,  and  these  governments  are  made  up  of 
living  creatures.  These  living  creatures  are  said  to  be 
in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  and  also  round  and  about 
the  throne.  Hence  they  represent  the  nations  and  the 
people  of  Israel,  under  whose  insignia  they  gather. 

Jehovah,  by  the  mighty  power  of  his  own  right  arm, 
took  Israel  out  of  Egypt;  and  by  his  own  glorious 
presence  guided,  protected,  and  led  them  through  forty 
years  of  wandering  in  the  wilderness.  But  it  is  writ¬ 
ten,  “With  many  of  them  God  was  not  well  pleased.’* 


The  Coming  Exodus  365 

Still  he  withdrew  neither  his  protection  nor  his  mani¬ 
fest  presence  from  them  as  a  nation.  Today  it  might 
also  be  written,  “With  the  greater  portion  of  Joseph- 
Israel  God  is  not  well  pleased,  and  yet  they  are  mani¬ 
festly  the  people,  nationally  speaking,  whom  he  has 
blessed,  and  to  whom  he  has  remembered  the  word  of 
his  oath.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  written,  “And  many 
of  the  Jews  believed  on  him” ;  and  yet,  nationally 
speaking,  the  Jews  are  the  enemies  of  the  Gospel  of 
grace.  But  when  this  greater  exodus  takes  place  the 
Jews  will  join  with  Christian  Israel  in  shouting  the 
glad  acclaim,  “Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord!”  even  as  Jesus  foretold,  when  he  was 
weeping  over  Jerusalem.  For  it  is  also  in  fulfillment 
of  the  following:  “The  stone  which  the  builders  re¬ 
jected  is  become  the  head  of  the  comer.  This  is  the 
Lord's  doing;  it  is  marvelous  in  our  eyes.  This  is 
the  day  which  the  Lord  hath  made ;  we  will  rejoice  and 
be  glad  in  it.  Save  now,  I  beseech  thee,  O  Lord :  O 
Lord,  I  beseech  thee,  send  now  prosperity.  Blessed  is 
he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.”  (Psa.  118: 
22-26.) 

Thus  we  see  that  it  is  the  rejected  stone  unto  whom 
they  will  cry,  “O  Lord,  save  !”  and  concerning  whom 
they  will  say,  “Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord,”  for  this  is  the  time  when  the  Lord  him¬ 
self  shall  appear  the  second  time  in  power  and  great 
glory.  At  which  time  he  will  have  set  his  hand 
again,  the  second  time  to  recover  his  people  and  his 
manifest  presence  shall  once  again  be  among  them. 

When  Israel  was  led  through  the  wilderness  under 
the  protection  of  God  with  those  four  ensigns  flying  in 


366  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph's  Birthright 

the  breeze,  there  were  only  three  wings,  or  encamp¬ 
ments  on  each  of  the  four  sides  of  the  great  hollow 
square,  because  there  were  only  three  tribes  on  each  of 
the  four  sides,  but  in  the  revelation  given  to  Saint  John 
for  each  of  these  four  Living  Creatures  there  were  six 
wings.  We  should  expect  this,  for  it  is  an  enlarged 
view  of  the  double  portion  of  Joseph-Israel.  This  is 
the  gathering  of  the  House  of  God ,  in  which  also  there 
is  the  House  of  God,  for  it  is  Bethel,  the  stone  kingdom 
which  the  Lord  set  up  in  the  days  of  the  kings  of  Chal¬ 
dea,  Medo-Persia,  Greece,  and  Pagan  Rome.  It  is  the 
kingdom  which  shall  smite  the  image  of  empire  on  its 
feet  “and  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  king¬ 
doms;  and  it  shall  stand  forever  ” 

In  this  kingdom  are  the  living  stones  that  are  builded 
together  for  a  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit,  of 
which  Jesus  Christ  himself  is  the  chief  corner  stone. 
“This  is  a  great  mystery,  but  I  speak  concerning  Christ 
and  the  Church” — his  wife — who  are  to  be  the  inhabi¬ 
tants  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  which  is  to  come  down 
from  God  out  of  heaven,  and  which  has  twelve  gates 
of  pearl,  each  of  which  has  upon  it  the  name  of  one 
of  the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob.  But  in  the  foundations  of 
this  city  are  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  of  the 
Lamb,  and  thus  in  it  also  is  the  double  everlasting  por¬ 
tion,  or  the  twenty-four  elders  in  Christianized  Israel, 
to  whose  care  was  committed  the  shepherd  stone 
of  Israel,  who  still  have  it  with  them,  and  who  will 
carry  it  back;  for  it  must  yet  become  the  headstone 
of  the  temple,  of  which  Ezekiel  gives  the  plan.  For 
in  Ezekiel's  city  there  is  a  temple,  but  in  the  city  which 
comes  down  from  God  there  is  no  temple. 


The  Coming  Exodus  367 

It  seems  that  one  of  these  cities,  Ezekiel’s,  is  to  be 
on  the  earth,  and  the  other  is  to  remain  in  the  air. 
Then  the  following  words  of  Jesus  to  Nathaniel  will 
be  fulfilled:  “Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Here¬ 
after  ye  shall  see  heaven  open  and  the  angels  of  God 
ascending  and  descending  upon  the  Son  of  man.” 
Then  also  will  be  fulfilled  that  of  which  Jacob’s  ladder 
was  a  type. 

There  is  also,  in  the  book  of  Revelation,  the  descrip¬ 
tion  of  a  company  which  is  composed  of  one  hundred 
and  forty-four  thousand  persons  who  were  redeemed 
from  the  earth,  and  who,  insofar  as  their  nationality  is 
concerned,  are  Israelites ;  for  there  are  twelve  thousand 
out  of  each  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  But  insofar 
as  the  moral  character  of  this  company  is  concerned, 
“They  are  without  fault  before  the  throne  of  God.” 
Since  he  alone  who  brought  grace  to  their  race  has 
power  to  present  men  faultless  before  the  throne  of 
God,  it  must  be  through  the  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ 
that  these  are  made  pure. 

When  this  gathering,  which  is  not  only  the  hope  of 
Israel,  but  also  the  hope  of  the  Church  of  Israel,  takes 
place,  then  the  Zarah  and  Zedekiah  branches  of  the 
royal  family  of  the  Abrahamic  people  will  need  to  abdi¬ 
cate  in  favor  of  “He  whose  right  it  is,”  for  he  will 
have  come.  Prior  to  the  time  when  the  kingdom  over 
Israel  was  given  to  David  and  his  sons,  the  Lord  was 
King  of  Israel,  and  after  the  enthronement  of  Solomon, 
we  are  told  that,  “Solomon  sat  on  the  throne  of  the 
Lord  as  king  instead  of  David  his  father.”  Hence 
when  the  Lord  returns  he  will  have  a  twofold  right  to 
that  throne,  i.  e.,  as  the  Son  of  David  and  the  son 


368  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

of  God,  who,  when  he  comes,  will  not  only  be  the 
Christ  for  whom  the  Christians  are  looking,  but  will 
also  be  the  long  expected  Messiah  for  whom  the  faith¬ 
ful  ones  among  the  Jewish  people  are  looking. 

This  present  age  is  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit. 
The  dispensation  which  shall  follow  this  gathering  will 
be  THE  DAY  OF  THE  LORD. 


APPENDIX. 


We  find  a  minister  of  the  Gospel  who,  in  his  homily 
on  Jer.  33:17-18,  asks,  “Do  the  prophets  prophesy 
falsely  ?”  He  answers  his  question  as  follows :  “If  the 
statements  of  these  verses  be  taken  literally  it  wouio* 
seem  as  if  they  did.  The  house  of  Israel  never,  since 
its  exile,  has  had  a  throne  at  all,  nor  has  any  descend¬ 
ant  of  David  been  acknowledged  as  its  prince.  Yet 
these  verses  say  ‘David  shall  never  want  a  man  to  sit 
upon  the  throne  of  the  house  of  Israel  (not  the  house 
of  Judah),  etc.’  And  literally,  it  never  came  to  pass, 
for  in  the  lapse  and  confusion  of  the  ages  their  gene¬ 
alogical  tables  have  been  utterly  lost,  so  that  none  can 
certainly  say  who  is  of  the  house  of  David  or  who  is 
of  the  house  of  Levi.  The  Asmonean  princes  who  oc¬ 
cupied  the  throne  of  Judah  were  of  the  tribe  of  Levi, 
and  Herod  was  no  Jew  at  all  (Herod  belonged  to  the 
house  of  Esau).  Now,  the  promise  of  these  verses 
is  one  that  is  repeated  (2  Sam.  7,16;  1  Kings  2,  4;  Psa. 
89,  4-29,  36;  Num.  25,  12,  etc).  How,  then,  are  they 
to  be  understood,  since  events  have  most  surely  false- 
fied  them  if  understood  in  any  literal  way?  And  so  the 
prophet  Hosea  cheered  the  ten  tribes  of  Israel — those 
of  whom  we  speak  now  as  the  lost  ten  tribes — by  prom¬ 
ises  of  their  restoration;  and  Jeremiah  does  the  same. 
*  *  *  But  in  spite  of  all  these  prophecies,  the  ten 

tribes  never  were  restored  and  never,  as  a  whole,  re¬ 
ceived  any  favors  from  God  after  they  went  into  cap^ 

369 


370  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

tivity.  Our  own  belief  is  that,  in  regard  to  this  world, 
these  promises  were  illusions,  but  in  regard  to  the 
world  to  come,  they  shall  in  substance  and  reality  be 
fulfilled  there.  Meanwhile  let  us  have  faith  in  God, 
who,  in  ways  better  than  we  think,  will  fulfill  that 
which  now  sometimes  seems  as  if  it  will  be  never  ful¬ 
filled  at  all.”  (Rev.  S.  B.  Conway,  B.  A.). 

It  is  a  marvel  that  this  man  has  any  faith  at  all,  and 
yet  he  not  only  has  faith  in  God,  but  can  exhort  others 
also  to  have  faith ;  even  though  the  case  seems  hope¬ 
less.  This  is  as  it  should  be,  and  it  gives  us  joy;  but 
we  are  sure,  if  this  brother,  and  thousands  like  him, 
had  these  truths  which  we  bring,  they  would  be  giants 
in  faith.  This  entire  work  is  intended  as  a  guide  to 
all  such  bewildered  believers.  For  their  further  en¬ 
couragement,  and  also  to  show  that  the  genealogical 
tables  have  not  been  utterly  lost,  we  append  a  genealog¬ 
ical  table  which  begins  with  Adam  and  passes  down 
through  the  royal  family  of  Israel  to  the  present  gen¬ 
eration. 

The  publisher  of  this  table  says:  “The  possible 
descent  of  Queen  Victoria  from  King  David  was  first 
entered  upon  in  the  present  day  by  the  Rev.  F.  R.  A. 
Glover,  M.  A.  He  did  not,  however,  attempt  to  give 
the  genealogy  link  by  link,  nor  enter  into  the  proofs  in 
detail.  Since  then  the  whole  subject  of  her  Majesty’s 
Jewish  ancestry  has  been  further  examined  by  various 
students  and  writers  on  our  Israelitish  origin.  Mr.  J. 
C.  Stephens  has  compiled  a  ‘Genealogical  Chart,’  show¬ 
ing  the  connection  between  the  House  of  David  and  the 
Royal  Family  of  Britain.” 

One  of  the  workers  in  this  cause,  says :  “The  diffi- 


Appendix  371 

culty  heretofore  has  been  to  supply  the  line  from  Queen 
Tephi  to  King  Fergus  of  Scotland.  This  we  now 
supply  through  the  valuable  researches  of  the  Rev.  A. 
B.  Grimaldi,  M.  A.” 

Rev.  A.  B.  Grimaldi  says :  “The  descent  of  our 
Royal  Family  from  the  royal  line  of  Judah  is,  however, 
no  new  discovery.  The  Saxon  kings  traced  themselves 
back  to  Odin,  who  traced  back  his  descent  to  David,  as 
may  be  seen  in  a  very  ancient  MS.  in  the  Heralds’  Col¬ 
lege,  London,  and  in  Sharon  Turner.  ('History  of  the 
Anglo-Saxons’,  Vol.  I.)  The  full  and  complete  gene¬ 
alogy  of  Victoria  from  David  does  not  appear  ever  to 
have  been  printed ;  and  it  has,  therefore,  been  thought 
that  it  would  be  useful,  as  well  as  interesting,  to  put  it 

on  record,  both  for  reference  and  testimonv.  In  its 

* 

compilation  reliable  works  of  reference  have  been  used 
— such  as  Anderson  ('Royal  Genealogies,’  London, 
1732),  Keating  ('History  or  Ireland,’  Dublin,  1733), 
Lavoisne  ('Genealogical  and  Historical  Atlas.’  London, 
1814),  and  others.  Perfect  accuracy  is  hardly  to  be 
expected  in  such  an  attempt ;  but  it  is  believed  that  the 
genealogy  is  as  correct  as  our  present  knowledge  of  this 
obscure  and  intricate  subject  will  permit.” 

Another  worker  in  this  cause,  says :  ''From  the 
tables  we  are  able  to  furnish  a  complete  list  of  the 
royal  line  from  David  and  Zedekiah  to  Queen  Victoria. 
We  believe  the  account  here  given  is  very  nearly  cor¬ 
rect.  If  any  error  be  detected  we  should  be  happy  to 
be  informed.  Dates  after  private  names  refer  to  births 
and  deaths;  those  after  sovereigns’  to  their  accession, 
and  death;  and  b  and  d  stand  for  born  and  died  (vide, 
Talmud,  London,  1887).” 


372  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

GENERATIONS. 

1.  Adam  (B.  C.  4000-3070),  Eve. 

2.  Seth  (B.  C.  3869-2957). 

3.  Enos  (B.  C.  3764-2859). 

4.  Canaan  (B.  C.  3674-2895). 

5.  Mahalaleel  (B.  C.  3604-2709). 

6.  Jared  (B.  C.  3539-25 77)- 

7.  Enoch  (B.  C.  3377-3012). 

8.  Methusaleh  (B.  C.  3312-2344). 

9.  Lamech  (B‘.  C.  3125-2349). 

10.  Noah  (B.  C.  2943-2007),  Naamah. 

11.  Shem  (B.  C.  2441-1841). 

12.  Arphaxad  (B.  C.  2341-1903). 

13.  Salah  (B.  C.  2306-18 73). 

14.  Heber  (B.  C.  2276-1812). 

15.  Peleg  (B.  C.  2241-2003). 

16.  Reu  (B.  C.  2212-1973). 

17.  Serug  (B.  C.  2180-2049). 

18.  Nahor  (B.  C.  2050-2002). 

19.  Terah  (B.  C.  2221-1992),  Amtheta. 

20.  Abraham  (B.  C.  1992-1817),  Sarah. 

21.  Isaac  (B.  C.  1896-1716),  Rebekah. 

22.  Jacob  (B.  C.  1837-1690),  Leah. 

23.  Judah  (b.  B.  C.  1752),  Tamar. 

24.  Hezron. 

25.  Aram. 

26.  Aminadab. 

27.  Naasson. 

28.  Salmon. 

29.  Boaz  (B.  C.  1312),  Ruth. 

30.  Obed. 

31.  Jesse. 


Appendix 

KINGS  IN  PALESTINE. 


3  73 


32.  K.  David  (B.  C.  1085-1015),  Bathsheba. 

33.  K.  Solomon  (B.  C.  1033-975),  Naamah. 

34.  K.  Rehoboam  (B.  C.  b.  1016,  d.  958),  Maacah. 

35.  K.  Abijah  (B.  C.  958-955)- 

36.  K.  Asa  (B.  C.  955-914),  Azubah. 

37.  K.  Jehoshaphat  (B.  C.  914-889). 

38.  K.  Jehoram  (B.  C.  889-885),  Athaliah. 

39.  K.  Ahaziah  (B.  C.  906-884),  Zibiah. 

40.  K.  Joash  (B.  C.  885-839),  Jehoaddan. 

41.  K.  Amaziah  (B.  C.  b.  864,  d.  810),  Jecholiab. 

42.  K.  Uzziah  (B.  C.  b.  826,  d.  758),  Jerusha. 

43.  K.  Jotham  (B.  C.  b.  783,  d.  742). 

44.  K.  Ahaz  (B.  C.  b.  787,  d.  726),  Abi. 

45.  K.  Hezekiah (B.  C.  b.  751,  d.  698),Hephzibah. 

46.  K.  Manasseh  (B.  C.  b.  710,  d.  643),  Meshulle- 
metb. 

47.  K.  Amon  (B.  C.  b.  621,  d.  641),  Jedidiah. 

48.  K.  Josiah  (B.  C.  b.  649,,  d.  610),  Mamutah. 

49.  K.  Zedekiah  (B.  C.  599-578). 

KINGS  OF  IRELAND. 

50.  Q.  Tea  Tephi  (b.  B.  C.  565),  marries  Herre- 
mon,  a  Prince  of  the  scarlet  thread. 

51.  K.  Irial  Faidh  (reigned  10  years). 

52.  K.  Eithriall  (reigned  20  years). 

53.  Follain. 

54.  K.  Tighernmas  (reigned  50  years). 

55.  Eanbotha. 

56.  Smiorguil. 

57.  K.  Fiachadh  Labhriane  (reigned  24  years). 


374  Judah's  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

58.  K.  Aongus  Ollmuchaidh  (reigned  21  years). 

59.  Maoin. 

60.  K.  Rotheachta  (reigned  25  years). 

61.  Dein. 

62.  K.  Siorna  Saoghalach  (reigned  21  years). 

63.  Oholla  Olchaoin. 

64.  K.  Giallchadh  (reigned  9  years). 

65.  K.  Aodhain  Glas  (reigned  20  years). 

66.  K.  Simeon  Breac  (reigned  7  years). 

67.  K.  Muirteadach  Bolgrach  (reigned  4  years). 

68.  K.  Fiachadh  Tolgrach  (reigned  7  years). 

69.  K.  Duach  Laidhrach  (reigned  10  years). 

70.  Eochaidh  Buailgllerg. 

71.  K.  Ugaine  More  the  Great  (reigned  30 

years). 

72.  K.  Cobhthach  Coalbreag  (reigned  30  years). 

73.  Meilage. 

74.  K.  Jaran  Gleofathach  (reigned  7  years). 

75.  K.  Coula  Cruaidh  Cealgach  (reigned  25 

years). 

76.  K.  Oiliolla  Caisfhiachach  (reigned  28  years). 
77*  K.  Eochaidh  Foltleathan  (reigned  n  years). 

78.  K.  Aongus  Tuirmheach  Teamharch  (reigned 
30  years). 

79.  K.  Eana  Aighneach  (reigned  28  years). 

80.  Labhra  Suire. 

81.  Blathucha. 

82.  Easamhuin  Eamhua. 

83.  Roighnein  Ruadh. 

84.  Finlogha. 

85.  Fian. 

86.  K.  Eodchaidh  Feidhlioch  (reigned  12  years). 


Appendix 


375 


87.  Fineamhuas. 

88.  K.  Lughaidh  Raidhdearg. 

89.  K.  Criomhthan  Niadhnar  (reigned  16  years). 

90.  Fearaidhach  Fion  Feachtnuigh. 

91.  K.  Fiachadh  Fionoluidh  (reigned  20  years). 

92.  K.  Tuathal  Teachtmar  (reigned  40  years). 

93.  K.  Coun  Ceadchathach  (reigned  20  years). 

94.  K.  Arb  Aonflier  (reigned  30  years). 

95.  K.  Cormae  Usada  (reigned  40  years). 

96.  K.  Caibre  Liffeachair  (reigned  27  years). 

97.  K.  Fiachadh  Sreabthuine  (reigned  30  years.) 

98.  K.  Muireadhach  Tireach  (reigned  30  years). 

99.  K.  Eochaidh  Moigmeodhin  (reigned  7  years.) 

100.  K.  Nail  of  the  Nine  Hostages. 

101.  Eogan. 

102.  K.  Murireadhach. 

103.  Earca. 

KINGS  OF  ARGYLESHIRE. 

104.  K.  Fergus  More  (A.  D.  487). 

105.  K.  Dongard  (d.  457). 

106.  K.  Conran  (d.  535). 

107.  K.  Aidan  (d.  604). 

108.  K.  Eugene  IV.  (d.  622). 

109.  K.  Donald  IV.  (d.  650). 
no.  Dongard. 

in.  K.  Eugene  V.  (d.  692). 

1 12.  Findan. 

1 13.  K.  Eugene  VII.  (d.  A.  D.  721),  Spondan. 

1 14.  K.  Etfinus  (d.  A.  D.  761),  Fergina. 

1 15.  K.  Achaius  (d.  A.  D.  819),  Fergusia, 

1 16.  K.  Alpin  (d.  A.  D.  834). 


376  Judah’s  Sceptre  and  Joseph’s  Birthright 

SOVEREIGNS  OF  SCOTLAND. 

1 17.  K.  Kenneth  II.  (d.  A.  D.  854). 

ti8.  K.  Constantin  II.  (d.  A.  D.  874). 

1 19.  K.  Donald  VI.  (d.  A.  D.  903). 

120.  K.  Malcolm  I.  (d.  A.  D.  958). 

J21.  K.  Kenneth  III.  (d.  A.  D.  994). 

122.  K.  Malcolm  II.  (d.  A.  D.  1033). 

123.  Beatrix  m.  Thane  Albanach. 

124.  K.  Duncan  I.  (d.  A.  D.  1040). 

125.  K.  Malcolm  III.  Canmore  (A.  D.  1055-1093). 
Margaret  of  England. 

126  K.  David  I.  (d.  A.  D.  1153),  Maud  of  North¬ 
umberland  (i.  e.,  North-Kumbri-land ) . 

127.  Prince  Henry  (d.  A.  D.  1152),  Adama  of  Sur¬ 
rey. 

128.  Earl  David  (d.  A.  D.  1219),  Maud  of  Chester, 

129.  Isobel  m.  Robert  Bruce  III. 

130.  Robert  Bruce  IV.  m.  Isobel  of  Gloucester. 

13 1.  Robert  Bruce  V.  m.  Martha  of  Carrick. 

132.  K.  Robert  I.  Bruce  (A.  D.  1306-1329),  Mary 
of  Burke. 

133.  Margary  Bruce  m.  Walter  Stewart  III. 

134-  K.  Robert  II.  (d.  A.  D.  1390),  Euphemia  of 
Ross  (d.  A.  D.  1376). 

135-  K.  Robert  III.  (d.  A.  D.  1406),  Arabella 
Drummond  (d.  A.  D.  1401). 

136.  K.  James  I.  (A.  D.  1424-1437),  Joan  Beau¬ 
fort. 

T37-  K.  James  II.  (d.  A.  D.  1460),  Margaret  of 
Gueldres  (d.  A.  D.  1463). 

I3^-  K.  James  III.  (d.  A.  D.  1488),  Margaret  of 
Denmark  (d.  A.  D.  1484). 


Appendix  377 

139.  K.  James  IV.  (d.  A.  D.  1543),  Margaret  of 
England  (d.  A.  D.  1539). 

140.  K.  James  V.  (d.  A.  D.  1542),  Mary  of  Lor¬ 
raine  (d.  A.  D.  1560). 

141.  Q.  Mary  (d.  A.  D.  1587),  Lord  Henry  Darn- 
ley. 

SOVEREIGNS  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 

142.  K.  James  VI.  and  I.  (A.  D.  1603-1625),  Ann 
of  Denmark. 

143.  Princess  Elizabeth  (1596-1613),  K.  Frederic 
of  Bohemia  (1632). 

144.  Princess  Sophia,  m.  Duke  Ernest  of  Bruns¬ 
wick. 

145*  K.  George  I.  (1698-1727,  Sophia  Dorothea  of 
Zelle  (1667-1726). 

146.  K.  George  II.  (1727-1760),  Princess  Caroline 
of  Anspach  (1683-1737). 

147.  Prince  Frederick  of  Wales  (1707-1751), 
Princess  Augusta  of  Saxe-Gotha. 

148.  K.  George  III.  (1760-1820),  Princess  Sophia 
of  Mecklenburgh-Strelitz  (1744-1818). 

149.  Duke  Edward  of  Kent  (1767-1820),  Princess 
Victoria  of  Leiningen. 

IS°-  Q.  Victoria  (b.  1819,  Crowned  1838,  d.  1901), 
Prince  Albert  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. 

15 1  K.  Edward  VII. 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
FEB  4  1933 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


JUDAH’S  SCEPTRE  AND  JOSEPH'S 

BIRTHRIGHT 


